I'm Still Me
by Muggleborn-Meghan1992
Summary: Hermione has come back to school for her sixth year at Hogwarts but is terrified of what everyone will say about her newfound, unwanted beauty. She catches many eyes, but only one that really matters..REVAMPED EDITION!PLEASE R&R! Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**All right, now that I've graduated, and have a lot more free time on my hands, and am totally worked up about Fanfiction all over again, I've decided that this story could be a lot better! Soooo….here we are, a few years later, with the revamped edition of I'm Still Me. =) **

**Please enjoy and review! (I really do love them. Honest, I do.)**

**Disclaimer: *shuts eyes tight* God, please make me J.K. Rowling. *opens eyes* Darn, it didn't work. Guess I'll have to live with just writing my own stories based off of her wonderful world!**

I twirled a loose strand of my hair nervously while I waited quietly with mum and dad at Platform 9 ¾'s. I was thankful for all of the steam billowing about the busy platform, because it meant that no one was looking my way. I stared at the ground quietly, and tugged the edges of my hood closer around my face. My mother noticed what I was doing and slapped me lightly on the hand.

"Hermione Jean Granger!" She said loudly, and I was mortified. **(A/N: I couldn't remember if it was Jean or Jane and I don't currently have one of the books handy to go check. So if you know, and want to tell me, then go ahead. Please. =D) Silently**, I was begging her to keep her voice down. She took no heed of my silent plea. "I'm disappointed in you. Since when are you one to keep your head down and your face covered! It's a new era for women for crying out loud!" My mother was very strong opinioned, and one of the ideas that she valued most was the men and women were equal.

How on earth could I tell her that it had nothing to do with being unequal to men? It was the simple, yet overbearing, fact that I had suddenly hit puberty, and about two and a half years later than most of the girls at school.

It was uncomfortable and foreign to me the way my Muggle t-shirt was ever so slightly stretched across the new bra that my mother had insisted on buying me.

"You're falling out of your old undergarments!" She had said as she drug me to the lingerie section in a department store. I had at least talked her into buying the least conspicuous, non-daring undergarments that she was willing to buy. It wasn't like I was going to impress anyone with them anyway.

I felt oddly light and uncomfortably out in the open, due to the sudden disappearance of my lingering baby fat. I'd never truly done any kind of intentional exercise a day in my life, but it wasn't like I'd been huge. But for some reason, my body had finally leveled itself out.

I'd always been able to find clothes easily; basically any shirt, straight legged pair of jeans, or shorts fitting me easily and comfortably. But this past summer, I'd had to throw out tons of stuff that wouldn't fit me right anymore. The stupid curves around my chest and waist had caused me to throw out a number of my favorite clothing articles that simply did not have the room around the chest area, or were nearly falling off of my slim hips.

My mother had made me use a chemical on my hair that left in almost completely straight, with just a few waves here and there. It was unsettling to go to try and run my fingers through my normally tangled and unmanageable mane, and instead to have my fingers met with a soft caress of my new tresses. At least she had let me leave it long, and I could hide my face when I deemed it necessary.

All in all, I guess you could say I had finally grown up, hit puberty, became a woman…whatever you want to call it. But instead of thanking the gods, I was cursing them. It would have been one thing to have it happen to me when all the other girls had gone through it at basically the same time. But because I was so late a bloomer, people were bound to notice, which I was absolutely dreading.

I blushed profusely just imagining what the Slytherins would have to say. I couldn't decide what would be worse, the rude catcalls and jeering that were sure to come from the more hormonal ones (which I'd already had to endure with some of the Muggle boys that lived down the street) or the ones who'd think I'd done all of this crap to myself on purpose, when in truth I wanted no part of it.

I was terrified of what the girls were going to say. Ravenclaws would never again look at me with respect, because they'd probably think I'd done it to myself too, instead of being happy with my looks, and my brains. (Which I totally had been.) The Slytherin girls would be pissed that I was getting attention from the Slytherin males, whether the attention was nice or mean, wanted or not. Even the Gryffindor girls were sure to bug me. I could just see two of my doormats, Lavender and Parvati giggling behind their hands and gossiping, trying to figure out who the boy was that I had gone so out of the norm for.

I was even scared of what Harry and Ron would say. Only in the last year and a half had Ron finally taken into consideration that I was of the female species. What the hell would he say once he saw everything that had happened to me, and so soon afterwards? Harry, I hoped, wouldn't have changed much, but the truth was, my two best friends were teenage guys. What if my sudden, and unwanted, new looks changed my relationship with them? Would they be more reluctant to allow me into their conversations? I prayed fervently that my fears were unfounded.

But how was I supposed to explain that all to my mother, in the middle of the platform, while the train was waiting to whisk me off to school? But I had to come up with something, she was waiting expectantly.

"It's just…I'm nervous." I reluctantly admitted to her. "What if people treat me different just because…well—I've grown up a little." I shuffled my feet and looked at the floor. I heard my dad move a few steps away. This was obviously not a conversation he wanted to be a part of.

"Sweetheart, there's no reason to be nervous. Everyone changes at their own pace, but we all get there at some point." She nodded reassuringly. "But honey, I don't want you to go around ducking your head just because of something you think_ might_ happen. Don't worry where it's unnecessary, Hermione."

She smiled at me, and her words did give me some comfort. I mean, obviously, once everyone got past the initial shock that was sure to come, they'd look past it and see that I was still the same studious bookworm that I'd been for the past five years at school. I smiled a small smile back at my mum in return.

"Thanks. I'll miss you." I said, giving her a hug.

"There's a good girl." She said, hugging me back. "Now, I want you to get on that train with your head held high. You are a smart, wonderful girl, and don't let anyone make you feel different." I nodded once. She smiled again, but it quickly changed into a slight scowl. "But dear, I _do _wish you'd at least worn the eyeliner I bought you. It brings out your lovely eyes so nicely." I shook my head furiously. I may have had to give in to the stupid hair chemical treatment, but there was no way in hell that she was getting me to put on any kind of makeup. No damn way. I'd die first. I hadn't even packed the stuff; it was still sitting on my mostly unused vanity dresser back at the house. Before she could say anything else however, the train whistle blew, and I knew I had to go. Most of the other student had already said their goodbyes and were on the train. I waved one last time to them, and clambered aboard the Hogwarts Express.

I still kept the edge of my hood slightly drawn around my face. No matter what mum had said, I wasn't going to invite trouble. I made my way down the train slowly, looking quickly into the compartments for Ron and Harry. Ron wouldn't have left Harry by himself yet; we weren't due in the prefect's quarters until after the train had left the station. I groaned as thinking about the prefect meeting reminded me that I'd have to spend the first part of my train ride with that absolute git, Malfoy. I shuddered as I thought about the insults that I was sure to have to endure by his hand. I could just imagine…

_Oi, Granger, did St. Mungo's finally take pity on that ugly arse face of yours and do some work on you? They do all kinds of charity work I hear…_

_Hey Granger, you could actually compare you looks to other humans now! Although, still not quite on the level to be compared with girls…_

I had to stop thinking about it; I was giving myself a stomachache just by dealing with what my mother had called unnecessary worry. I finally found the compartment that Harry and Ron were in, and they were sharing it with Dean, Ginny, Neville, and Luna.

"Hey guys." I said as I slid open the compartment door. Everyone waved hello, and for a split second, I was over the moon. I thought all my fears had been unsubstantiated, that I'd had no cause for worry. _You idiot!_ I laughed at myself. _You must really think a hell of a lot of yourself to spend all that time worrying that people would even think about how you look!_ Then, in the next second, my ecstatic mood was ripped away from me. It started with Ron. He had tossed a friendly nod my way, and then after a second did a double take so fierce that I could hear his neck crick from the doorway. Harry's mouth hung open as he really got a look at me. I could tell Ginny was stunned, from the way her eyes traveled over my new appearance. Dean, who was holding Ginny's hand, politely looked away rather than stare at me in front of his girlfriend.

I was immensely grateful to Luna, whom I'd never felt very affectionate towards before, for continuing to read her latest edition of the Quibbler as though nothing odd was happening. Then again, in her mind, this probably didn't even count as interesting compared to heliopaths and Crumple Horned Snorkacks and whatever else she and her dad believed in.

Neville was the first to speak. "Umm…n—new outfit, Hermione? It looks…er—a bit different." But he smiled to let me know he meant it in a nice way. I smiled graciously at him as I took my seat. Harry's mouth had finally closed, but he was still looking at me oddly, while Ron was no longer looking at me at all, but at the floor, and his ears had turned a bright shade of red. My heart sank a little at their reactions. But I tried to take it all in with good grace.

"Yes, Neville. Thank you for noticing." The compartment was quiet for a moment, until Ginny spoke again.

"Blimey, Hermione…what—what've you done to your hair?" she whispered. I frowned. I had been counting on Ginny as one of the only people who was sure to treat me the same. Before I could answer however, her face broke into a beaming smile.

"I love it!" She cried jubilantly, and leapt from her seat to my side. I breathed a sigh of relief. I could handle her questions…I was pretty sure I could anyway. As she and I talked, the tension slowly, but surely left the room. Ron's ears turned back to their normal shade, and Harry was looking around almost normally again, and Neville soon engaged the both of them in telling tales about his _mimbulus mimbletonia, _which from the snippets I heard of their conversation, had grown quite a lot over the summer.

The train was well out of the station by now, and I reminded Ron that we had to get down to the prefects carriage, or risk losing our badges. He nodded, but said nothing, and his ears turned scarlet again. Was this how it was to be then? Harry seemed to be getting over the shock, but Ron seemed determined not to speak to me. We said our goodbyes, and left the compartment. But a bit further down the train, I stopped him and turned him around to face me. He looked stunned for moment, and then dropped his eyes to the floor.

"You know," I said coldly to him, "It's hard enough to deal with the other reactions of people. It would have been nice to know that at least my best friend treated me no different." He blushed, and the color reached all the way to his hairline. He didn't look up from his shoes, but he did at least talk to me.

"It's just…I dunno, weird. You don't look like…well I mean that's not to say…" He stammered. I cold feel my eyes start to brim ever so slightly with tears.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk anymore about it." I said, and turned to walk away.

"I'm just scared you won't be like you anymore, now—now that you look all different." He mumbled, almost incoherently. I sighed and turned back around towards him. I lifted his chin slightly so that his eyes finally met mine.

"Ron, you don't have anything to worry about." I assured him. " Don't you worry, I'll be nagging you about your homework day and night, and working on S-P-E-W, and spending most of my free time in the library. I'm still me." He nodded once, and then we continued down the train.

**As you can tell, if you were an original reader of this story, this was a lot longer and more detailed that what I'd originally written. Oh, and don't get your hopes up about this being a Ron/Hermione fic. Although I wouldn' say no ter a bit of romance later on…**

**Next chapter: How will others react? Not all as are excepting as Hermione's close friends…Oh, and did I mention, a nice little conflict with Draco? =D **

**Please read and review!**

**Meghan**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm trying to get as much juicy detail as I can into all of these chapters. I know I hate it when authors update and it's a short one. But one also likes to hear comments about her work. **

**So please, for the sake of my sanity, review.**

**Disclaimer. *sits patiently in room* J.K. Rowling should be sending me an owl any day now telling me that I exclusively own the rights to the HP wizarding world. Until that occurs, however, it is still hers.**

Ron seemed to relax more after our conversation. He started to complain about the trolley not stopping the prefect's carriage, and his longing for the start of term feast at Hogwarts.

"Do you ever think about anything besides food?" I asked him, as he opened the door to the large compartment.

"Well, I think about Quidditch a lot too, and every once in a while I consider thinking about othter things. Does that count?" He asked, smiling.

"No, it doesn't." I countered. "Perhaps if you'd done a little more thinking on other things, you wouldn't be so hungry so often." He stuck his tounge out at me, and I laughed at him as we took our usual seats in the semi-cramped space. I hadn't noticed until just then how unusually quiet it was. I looked around just to check and make sure that we weren't the first ones there, which was highly unlikely. Sure enough, I spotted Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abott from Hufflepuff, and Padma Patil and Terry Boot from Ravenclaw. The only set of prefects yet to arrive was the Slytherins. How typical.

"Good summer?" I asked Padma, who was closest to me. She was looking at me like I'd grown another head, but politely responded to my question.

"Oh yes. And you?" She asked. Her voice sounded funny, a bit distant if truth be told. Terry was looking at me like he'd never seen me before. Ernie had started talking to Hannah, but they both kept shooting me a furtive glance every once in a while.

Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't want the attention, that much was certain. But it wasn't as hurtful as my friend's first reactions had been; I cared what Harry, Ron, and Ginny thought of me much more than anyone else. I wondered vaguely if this was ho w Harry felt about all the unwanted fame and attention that he got. I realized the Padma was still waiting for an answer.

'My holiday was all right." I said coolly. It felt quite odd to be conversing this way with Padma who had always been a good acquaintance. If I'd been put in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor I daresay we would have ended up best friends. But her sudden attitude towards me unnerved me. How many more situations like this one with Padma was I going to endure?

Before I could talk to her about it, however, the compartment door swung open again, and the Head Boy and Girl entered. The Head Boy was a 7th year Gryffindor named Thomas Leale, who was like a nicer, slightly less fussy version of Percy Weasly. He even had horned rim glasses. The Head Girl was a 7th year Ravenclaw called Vivica Cerdas.

Thomas looked around the room. He paused momentarily on me, but didn't comment, or act too unusual. Vivica did not look at any of us, but sat quietly in her chair at the front of the compartment.

"Where are Parkinson and Malfoy?" Thomas asked. As if any of us would know. Most of the other houses at Hogwarts made it a habit not to associate much with the Slytherin house. I was silently hoping that the both of them had somehow missed the train, or wouldn't be able to come to school this term, or maybe never again. Alas, my hopes were dashed when just moments later, I heard the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Don't get your wand in a not, Leale. We're right here." And with that, Malfoy strode into the room, Pansy dangling on his arm. He acted like a prince going to meet his damn subjects. As if we should be pleased that he bothered to grace us with his idiotic presence at all. I noticed that Pansy, unusually, was not wearing a newly applied coat of lipstick. My gaze traveled over the rest of her: her hair, which usually hung straight, was messed up in places. The top two buttons on her shirt were not done, as if she had thrown the shirt on in a hurry. Malfoy didn't look much more put together. His hair normally lay straight, but was sticking up in places, as if someone had run her fingers through it, and I thought I saw a smudge of bright pink lipstick on the side of his neck.

Anyone could guess what they'd been up too. The looks on all the faces around me showed the same sense of disapproval I was feeling.

"Sorry we're late." Pansy said giggling. "We were a little…ah…tied up." The implied statement was so thinly concealed I was surprised that the Head's didn't say anything. Well hell, why didn't she just go ahead and tell the whole world she was a slut? We all knew it anyway. I shook my head. I would never, _ever _give people a reason to think that way about me. Draco sprawled out in his chair. Pansy took her seat more gracefully. The rest of us were rapt with attention at what the Head's had to say: Pansy was examining her fingernails, while Draco twirled his wand lazily. Ungrateful, insolent little brats. That's what they were. Oh how I wish Professor Dumbledore would take their badges away from them…

"We have most of our duties planned ahead for the year, but as you all know, sometimes things arise that we haven't prepared for." Thomas was saying. "And while Vivica and I," he inclined his head towards her, and she smiled ever so slightly, "have been working hard most of the holiday to nail down a patrolling routine that fits everyone, we've found that we weren't able to do it. Between Charms club, Gobstones, Quidditch, PotionPals, and study groups that you've all owled us about, we weren't able to get you a fixed schedule. However, your schedule shall be posted in your common rooms every Sunday night, so you'll be prepared by Monday if you have a shift." He sat down, his bit finished, and Vivica got gracefully to her feet.

"I know you'll all want to do well in your NEWT classes this year, so we've tried to make the schedule as even as possible between everyone, but you aren't always going to be paired with your fellow prefect from your own house." Her dainty voice carried in the compartment. Vivica started to list all of the duties that they'd also be doing this year: helping decorate the castle, assisting Mr. Filch in all ways possible, guiding the first years…I stopped listening at that point, because I felt someone starting at me. I pushed myself farther back on the seat, and closer to the shadows. I hoped that the feeling would go away, but it didn't. I couldn't stand it any longer, and was finally forced to look into those steely grey eyes that I knew I would eventually have to deal with.

Malfoy was looking at me from across the compartment. But what absolutely stunned me was that his glare wasn't malevolent. It wasn't appreciative, like the looks I'd received from other boys in compartments coming down the train with Ron. The best way to describe it was he looked like he was thinking hard. Perhaps even a little frustrated. Well good. I knew he wouldn't dare insult me in front of the heads, because it would earn him immediate detention, which accounted for the frustration. His little pea sized brain was probably trying to think of a good insult for later.

Well, I really wasn't being fair. Malfoy wasn't as smart as me, but he wasn't dumb either. I grudgingly had to give him that. Yes, he was a spoiled, pampered little brat. Yes, he was absolutely awful to both me and my friends. Yes, he'd tormented me basically every day since my first night at Hogwarts. But brains were brains, and whether I hated him or not, I had to respect him ever so slightly for it.

"And that's about it." Vivica was wrapping up her speech. Well damn, I'd missed almost the whole thing, just thinking about Malfoy. What a waste of time! I stood to leave the compartment, ready to get the hell away from the Slytherins and back to the comfort of my own friends.

However, I'd chosen unwisely to sit at the back of the compartment. The Head boy and girl were first out, followed by the Slytherins, then the Hufflepuffs and then the Ravenclaws. Ron and I were last and about to file out the door, when I felt the seam along the edge of my pants rip. Huh. They'd been fine this morning. Oh well, I'd probably just moved wrong or something. Ron stopped to wait for me, I bent down to examine the damage, and the seam ripped more. It was open now almost to the top of my thigh.

"Ummm. You go on ahead. I'll catch up; I just need to repair these." I told Ron. I didn't particularly want him seeing that much of my bare skin, and especially not there. Ron just shrugged, and then he left. I wished now that I'd already changed into my witches dress robes. They were much more voluminous than the skin tight jeans that I had on. I turned around, facing the back of the wall to assess the damage. The rip ran from the top of my knee, near the inside of my thigh, to the point where shorts would be. If they were extremely short shorts, that is. I sighed. Damn. It wasn't really any trouble to fix it, but it proved what I'd been saying all along to my mother about needing bigger clothes. I took out my wand, preparing to repair the rip.

"Nice ass, Granger." A voice drawled from behind me. I turned around to face Malfoy, momentarily forgetting about the rip in my pants that left a good part of my thigh uncovered.

"Get the hell away from me Malfoy." I told him, holding my wand out. Thank god I'd already had my wand out, or he'd probably have been able to curse me quicker than I could get to it. He watched my wand warily, but the smirk didn't leave his face.

"I was just giving you a compliment." He said slyly. He took a step closer. I took a step back.

"Yeah? Well I don't fancy getting a compliment from you, you git." I said harshly. "Now, I'm going to say it again, get the hell away from me."

"Why on earth would I want to do that?" He sneered. "I can't have any of my fun if I leave. And Potter and Weasly are so conveniently absent….No, I don't think I'll get another chance like this, Granger." His smile was pure evil.

"Well, sorry to spoil your 'fun', but I want no part of it. Or you. Now move." However, he didn't leave, but strayed closer to me. I took several steps back, and I hit the wall. Damn, how did I let this happen? Draco Malfoy had cornered me in a room, by myself. At least I wasn't wandless yet. He knew I was cornered. The look on his face was like the cat that's about to eat the canary. Or ate the canary. Whatever.

"But Granger, you can't leave. I know you wouldn't want to go running down the train with those trousers half open now would you?" He made a fair point. "But see, that's the brilliance in my plan." He smirked again.

" YOU did this to my jeans?" I practically screamed. The bastard planned this! "You come one step closer to me and I'll scream Malfoy. See if you can have any of your fun then."

"Ah, but see little Mudblood, that's easily fixed. "_Silencio!_" He said, effectively making sure that no one would hear me. Well, it would have been a good plan if I hadn't told him. He was even closer to me now. I pretended to give up.

"Fine, Malfoy." I said, shutting my eyes. "Do your worst." I kept expecting to feel some kind of pain, or at least unpleasantness any moment now. What I didn't expect what to suddenly feel his warm breath on my face.

"Grown up a little, have you Granger?" His voice was husky in my ear. It sent a shiver down my spine. I wasn't sure what I was more terrified of: him being so close, or the fact that I wasn't entirely sure that shiver had anything to do with fear. I felt his hand touch my exposed thigh. His finger left a trail of goosebumps along my skin where he ran his hand. I couldn't let this go on for a second more.

I shot a silent stinging hex down to his male regions. He howled in pain, and I slipped from underneath his imprisoning arms.

"That'll teach you, you arrogant bastard!" I yelled at him on my way out. I repaired the seam as I tried to walk calmly down the hall. What the hell? Had Malfoy just come on to me? Maybe I'd imagined the whole thing. Maybe I'd wake up to find out this was a bad dream. But the feeling in my gut told me it wasn't. However, the feeling in my gut was only half due to anxiety. I couldn't tell what the other part was, but it definitely wasn't a feeling that I'd felt before. Ughhhh. I was going to kill that bloody little ferret if it was the last thing I did.

**Hope you enjoyed! More to come! =) **

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Meghan**


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope you all enjoyed that last little bit of "fun" between Draco and Hermione. Personally, I think he got what was coming to him. I know I'm writing him as a git, but you really have to hate him before you can love him. =) You know, that thin line and all between the two. **

**Authors love reviews. Especially this one! So, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd all write one. Otherwise I might lose my will to binge write, and who knows if I'd ever be able to come back from that?**

**Speaking of amazing reviews: big thank you to both ****, and Zeeeeeeee for their comments on the story. I really appreciate it you two!**

**Meghan**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. Well, the plot is. But the characters and most of the background aren't.**

What the bloody hell was I thinking? Had I just come on to the Mudblood? I shook my head as though trying to clear water from it. The pain in my privates was proof enough that the encounter really happened. But what had possessed me to do it? Damn Granger and that body of hers.

Not that she'd ever truly been hideous. But sheesh, take away that bushy brown hair, buck teeth and flowing witches robes and you get one hell of a woman. Who knew? Well, probably Weasly, but who cared about that?

I'd barely spared the compartment a glance when I and Pansy had showed up late to the meeting. I was the freaking Prince of Slytherin, heir to the Malfoy fortune…why the hell should I care if I was a few minutes late to a meeting that I didn't really want to be at in the first place? Of course, wearing a prefects badge gave me liberties at school that I wouldn't otherwise have had.

But still…if we hadn't had to go to the blasted meeting, Pansy and I could have continued our own private little get-together. I had quite liked the way things were going, until she reminded me that we were due in the prefect's carriage. Women and their bloody sense. How was she thinking about that when I had my hands and lips all over her? It really wasn't a matter, I supposed, since we could always pick up where we left off later in my room.

Anyway, I had just plopped down in my chair, and was all ready and set to drone out of the rest of the meeting (Who wanted to listen to the Vivica chick anyway? I'd much rather look at her. And the Leale bloke reminded me too much of one of the oldest, and most annoying Weasly's. The one that worked for Fudge, I thought.) My eyes had cast about for something interesting to take my mind off things, and boy had I found it.

I hadn't known who it was at first glance, truth be told. But after a moment, I had taken it in. It was Granger! What the hell? My mind first came up with about 3000 insults I could throw at her that was sure to make her feel beneath me. That was her rightful place after all. But then, the actual image of her beneath me, and wearing much less clothing, caught up to me, and I'd spent several minutes with that fantasy.

I then realized that I'd spent almost five whole minutes daydreaming about Granger. The filthy Mudblood for crying out loud! It didn't matter if she suddenly had a fantastic body that Iwanted nothing more than to explore, she was still the same smart ass know-it-all that she had been since she was born. Of course, nothing wrong with a few experiments….every man had needs…who said they had to be met by the same woman? I'd been with Pansy for as long as I'd been old enough to want a woman. Not a girlfriend, never that. But someone who was there when I needed her. Whether it be a date, a friend, or a good shag. If a woman was going to hang around with me, then she damn well better be good for all three. But Pansy had been there through most of it with me, though I'd had my rounds with all of the Slytherin girls in my year, two below me, and one above me, and one pretty little thing from Ravenclaw. I didn't remember her name, but she was a year below me too. Like I said, not all a man's needs have to be met by the same woman. However, I would never touch a Hufflepuff girl as long as I lived….but I suddenly realized that it might be extremely exciting trying to tame one of Gryffindor lionesses. And who better to start with than the Gryffindor princess herself?

I began my plotting and scheming. To hell with her being a Mudblood. I wanted Granger, therefore I was going to get her. Ooooh. This was going to be fun. Potter and Weasly would be so pissed…which made it all the better. I wondered if I could even start today…

I looked around suddenly, hoping that no one was watching me, or if they were that they merely thought I was listening hard to what Vivica was saying. I'd caught Granger glancing at me once or twice while I stared off into space, and when she looked away the last time, I'd smirked. Maybe this would be easier than I thought. Hell, if I worked hard enough, I bet that he could bed her in a month. And so his game began. He wondered vaguely if he ought to let a few of the other Slytherins in on his bet. Better not, just in case a month was being a bit too cocky. Even though he doubted it.

When the Head's were finally done speaking, everyone stood to go. We were the second out of the compartment, and by the urgent tug on Pansy's hand, I could tell she wanted to finish what we started.

"Tonight." I breathed in her ear. I wouldn't have Granger that soon, so I'd need someone to occupy me. It was a good thing I had my own room. I was the only one who wasn't in 7th year that did though. It's nice having money and an influential father. Pansy snuck to my room so often that she hardly ever slept in her own bed. I mean really, a simple silencing charm on the room, a lock on the door, and an eager woman…it was all too easy to get away with.

Yes, I definitely needed more of a challenge. I wondered where we would be when I finally bedded Granger? However, I didn't have long to dwell on my fantasy's.

"Get going." I told Pansy, shaking loose of her hand. "I'll catch up in a bit. I want to torment the Mudblood some." Pansy gave me a smile and walked away. I knew she probably knew about my exploits of other women, but she never said a thing, so neither did I. Just as Granger was about to walk out the door, I sent a ripping hex that tore her jeans. Very artfully too if I do say so myself. I watched her struggle with her decision for a moment.

She obviously didn't want to be left behind, alone, which was smart of her. But she didn't want to walk down the train with a good part of her upper(and a little bit of inner) thigh showing. However, she obviously didn't want Weasly to say and see her bare skin either. Hmmmm. I wonder…did that mean they hadn't been together then? I couldn't imagine Granger doing it with anyone else…Potter was too infatuated with the female Weasellete and Krum hadn't been around long. Not that I thought Krum would've objected, just that Granger, with her annoying, goody-two-shoes ways probably wanted to _know _the person before she bedded them.

What a joy it would be knowing that I claimed her…that in some small way , I would forever own her. I knew I was being an ass, and I really didn't care.

"Ummm. You go on ahead. I'll catch up; I just need to repair these." I heard her telling Weasly. The bloody idiot walked away as she retreated further into the room. Ha. This was going to be too easy. She may still hate my guts, especially after what I was about to do to her, but it didn't really matter. I was going to make her feel some real, raw, passion. And I'd do it enough times, starting now, that before this month was over, she'd be coming to me begging for some relief. I smiled as I imagined thinking it over. She'd be mortified, feel like she had to prove herself. But in all honesty, that would probably make the sex even better. Hermione Jean Granger was not a person who liked to fail…at anything. I was banking on that aspect of her personality to help me out quite a lot, actually.

I entered the room behind her. She was surveying my new addition to her jeans. I rather liked it. I said the first thing that popped into my mind.

"Nice ass, Granger." This was totally truthful. She looked more alluring than any female should have the right to have. She spun to face me, completely forgetting about the large rip in her pants. I must say, I quite liked the view. I'd have liked it a lot better if the other side matched, or perhaps if she weren't wearing them at all. She almost ruined the moment for me though.

"Get the hell away from me, Malfoy." She spat. She had her wand draw. Shit. I'd been counting on her not having it out yet. It would make things a bit trickier. I eyed the wand in her hand with respect. That little witch was not someone to be toyed with when she held her most dangerous weapon in her hands. Yet, here I was, tempting fate and doing exactly that.

"I was just giving you a compliment." I said smoothly. If I'd told anyone else they had a nice ass, they probably would have blushed, or in the best case scenario, give a compliment back. (Whether it be about my spectacular backside or not.) However, Granger, being the woman she is (or just became rather) did not do either. I did receive quite a lively insult though.

"Yeah? Well, I don't fancy getting a compliment from you, you git. Now, I'm going to say it again, get the hell away from me." ANYONE else would have been thrilled to get a compliment from me. But nooooo, little miss too-good-for-you Granger wouldn't have it. I took a step forward like predator stalking prey.

"But why on earth would I want to do that? I can't have any of my fun if I leave. And Potter and Weasly are so conveniently absent…No, I don't think I'll get another chance like this Granger." Which was again, true. This was the best time to start. Once this was over, Potter and Weasly would never let her near me again, if she didn't want to be. I had to plant the seed in her mind first. I figured I'd have enough time to do it.

"Well," she retorted vehemently, "sorry to spoil your fun, but I want no part of it. Or you. Now move." Oh, but she would. She would beg for us to have 'fun' by the time I was done messing with her. I shook my head as I came closer. She tried to back away, but there was no wear for to go. She was against a wall.

"But Granger," I said innocently, "you can't leave. I know you wouldn't want to go running down the train with those trousers half open now would you?"She gaped at me for a moment, and then I continued. I decided that she should know I had planned this. Nice little shock factor for the perfect Granger.

" YOU did this to my jeans?" she seemed astounded that I would do such a thing. But come on. Really, it is me after all. "You come one step closer to me and I'll scream Malfoy. See if you can have any of your fun then." Well, that would have been a good plan if she hadn't told me. Magic is a handy thing.

"Ah, but see little Mudblood, that's easily fixed. "_Silencio!_" I said, pointing my wand at the compartment. When I looked back down, she looked more worried than she had a moment ago. And then she did something I never expected. She closed her damn eyes! What the hell was that about?

"Fine, Malfoy. Do your worst." I couldn't believe my ears. Where was the fight that the Mudblood was widely known for? I wanted a bloody, bittersweet, sexy wooing that was sure to consist of several fights and tension filled moments. I did NOT want her waving the white flag, and saying "Go for it." That was no fun. But I hardy believed that she was going to lie down and give me what I wanted so easily. There was a trick somewhere to this; I knew there had to be.

And yet, against my better judgment, I moved closer to her. She had tensed, as if she was waiting for me to attack her with my wand. Too bad she didn't know what I really wanted. She could have prepared herself better.

I was thrilled to have her this close to me, to feel the heat radiating from her body.

"Grown up a little, have you Granger?" I asked. My mouth was close to her ear, intended to be as sensual as possible. I was only going to get a few moments to plant that seed. I was sure that whatever she had planned would be coming, and soon. She shivered when I spoke to her, and I felt my longing deep inside. I didn't know if I could wait long enough to seduce her. I wanted to take her right there.

I put my hands on her warm, exposed flesh. I'd done much more than this, yet, it felt strangely more intimate than most of my experiences with other women. Perhaps it was just because she was so much more womanly. I trailed my hand further up her thigh, almost to the point to where the rip stopped. Which was pretty high up. She had goosebumps on her legs.

_That's it. _ I thought. _Let me make you feel, Granger. _I'd started to move my hand further to the inside of her pants leg when I suddenly felt as though I would scream. I almost did scream.

She'd hit me with a damn stinging hex! And on the family jewels too! Bloody witch! She slipped through my arms while I doubled over in pain.

"That'll teach you, you arrogant bastard!" She yelled over her shoulder as she left the room. But even through my tears of pain, I smiled. Because I knew I'd gotten through. She'd avoid me for a while, probably as long as she thought she could. But I'd get near her again. When she was alone. I was sure she wouldn't tell Potter or Weasly. And next time, when I had my fun, she wouldn't be so resistant.

Damn it. If it's the last thing I bloody well do, I'm going to bed that Gryffindor.

**My longest chapter yet. Did you like the chapter from Draco's point of view? Do you think I should do more that way, or just stay with Hermione's point of view? I just wanted to add this one in there because 1) I thought it would be funny and 2) because I wanted you to all know how big of a prick Draco is at this point. **

**Please review, leave your comments, and let me know what you think. **

**Thanks!**

**Meghan**


	4. Chapter 4

**Please enjoy, and review. **

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish it was….the HP world is not mine.**

I shut the compartment door behind me, trying to look casual. I didn't know why exactly I was keeping this information from Ron and Harry; because I knew if they knew, they'd never let Malfoy near me again. And yet, I strained most of the way down the train to seem as unruffled as possible. Perhaps I just wanted to deal with it on my own, and not worry them…yes; surely that was the logical choice. No sense in alerting them to a problem that I could handle on my own. Of course not…they'd get into enough detentions this year on their own without trying to defend my honor too. So, for whatever reason, I didn't tell them about my encounter with the Slytherin.

However, I must not have looked as nonplussed as I would have like to, because they both were obviously trying very hard not to look at me.

"What?" I said, examining my appearance thoroughly. There was no indication of what had just transpired between Malfoy and me. Yet, Ron turned red, and Harry snorted.

"What happened to the new addition to your jeans, Hermione?" He said, barely concealing the laughter in his voice. So that was it, then. Ron had told him about my jeans ripping.

"Oh shut up, you two." I said playfully. "It isn't my fault mum bought these pants for me." Again, I left out what Draco had told me about it being him who intentionally ripped my jeans. Harry was still chortling, but he sobered up rather quickly once Ron's knight took his queen a moment later on the chessboard they sat at.

"Ha." I told him. "See what you get?" He didn't have the decency to reply, so stuck his tongue out instead. What was it with him and Ron? Maybe they couldn't articulate the best comeback ever, but resorting to a measure used when we were all about four years old? Come on.

It didn't seem to take long to reach the castle, with all the chatting going on in our compartment. When we got to the platform in Hogsmeade, I saw the lantern bobbing above the crowd, and heard Hagrid's familiar voice calling "Firs' years this way!" I knew that the first year students would be taken across the lake, instead of in the carriages like the rest of us. It was a nice night out, and they'd have a glorious view at the castle when they arrived.

Ron and Harry were both complaining about food again as we climbed in our carriage. I rolled my eyes at the both of them. The carriage wouldn't hold all of us, so Neville joined us, while Luna, Ginny and Dean went to find another carriage. I caught Harry's glare at Dean's retreating back, and his left arm, which was currently wrapped around Ginny as they left together.

"Something bothering you Harry?" I asked sweetly. Ooooh, I couldn't wait to tell Ginny that Harry was jealous of her and Dean. Harry snapped his head back at me, and in a shared look between us, I knew that he knew. I didn't know when it had happened exactly, maybe over the past year or so, but Harry had become quite attached to Ginny. Ron, as always, was oblivious, and was still complaining about his empty stomach.

"Oh give it a rest, Ron." I begged. "We'll be there soon enough." He shot me an almost resentful glare. Next moment, his eyes softened ever so softly as his gaze fell a little farther south than my face. Suddenly, I could tell he was still hungry, just simply not for food anymore. I crossed my hands over my chest, and it seemed to bring him back to the real world. He blushed ever so slightly, and then quickly joined in the animated conversation Harry and Neville were having about Quidditch with a little too much enthusiasm. It appeared that dress robes or not, I could not hide what I didn't want the world to see of my body. Although I thought they certainly helped.

I wondered vaguely if Ron would make any kind of advance, now that he obviously had taken into consideration that not only was I a girl, I was a fairly good looking one. Or if my bookish ways would be enough to keep him away. Then I wondered if I even liked Ron that way. Yes, he was my best friend, and not bad looking, and a decent Quidditch player. But I just didn't know that I was attracted to him, not in that way. Someone would have to be really brainy for me to fall for them, and I really didn't give a damn about Quidditch anyway. I wanted someone that I could talk to, and Ron and I had never shared a serious conversation that wasn't an argument, or didn't include Harry.

I was feeling entirely cramped in the suddenly too-small space of the carriage, and so I was extremely relieved to feel the carriage halt to a stop. I practically leapt from the carriage and onto the stone steps leading up to the front gate of the castle. The others walked slightly behind me as I made my way to the front door of the entrance hall, so I did not feel as though obligated to talk to them.

Once I'd entered the Great Hall, however, I wished that I could have buried myself behind the three boys. It wasn't one of those dramatic things like you see in the movies where everyone looks at the newcomer all at the same time; just a simple turning of the head here or there as many of the males my age watched me take my seat at the Gryffindor table. I tried not to look around much, although I could feel various pairs of eyes on me. I hurriedly took the seat between Ginny, who had Dean on her other side, and Colin Creevy, a nice, but slightly over excited boy that was a year below me. Neville took the seat across from me, and Harry and Ron sat diagonally from me now.

Almost everyone had by this time taken their seats, and Dumbledore rose to his feet to give a speech. It was fairly boring, just the usual reminders about no magic in the corridors(which no one followed), the banned list of objects on Mr. Filch's door(which no one cared), and the tryouts for Quidditch(which was the only part of the speech most students listened to.) He sat back down and food appeared on our plates.

Dinner was a pleasant affair, although no one talked much. Ginny kept looking at me through the meal. _What's wrong? _She mouthed to me after a few seconds of studying my face. I hesitated; I wasn't sure after all that I wanted to tell her, and even if I had, it couldn't have been right then. However, she knew me too well for me to lie to her.

_Later._ I mouthed back. I spent the rest of the dinner praying that there was some way to escape Ginny's questions once we were away from the guys. Once we were finished, Ron and I showed the first years the way to the common room, and gave them the new password they were expected to remember.

We were settling into our usual chairs near the window, no too far away from the fire. I wondered how much homework we'd be given the next day. Surely with this being our NEWT year, they were going to go pretty hard on us. Therefore, I decided to better prepare myself by rereading the _Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six._ I was very careful though not to catch Ginny's eye the whole time I was sitting there. I looked up when either Harry or Ron spoke to me, which only happened every so often, as they were entertaining themselves with a game of exploding snap. The noise bothered me, but I didn't want to risk going to the library right now. It was already late, but it didn't mean no one else would be there. Maybe even someone I didn't want to run into. My stomach gave a little flip thinking about this afternoon on the train, and then conjuring up the image of what he might try to do if he caught me alone again.

To my shock and horror, my body did _not_ feel fearful, but gave yet another flip. What was wrong with me? Was I having a chemical imbalance? The idea of me and Malfoy alone in the library should scare the daylights out of me….so why doesn't it? I really needed to tell Harry and Ron. They would keep me from making a stupid mistake. They could keep me safe and away from him…and yet, I did not speak.

I looked over at the two boys, and was surprised when I caught Ron's eye. He'd been looking at me again. My stomach did not give a little flip, the way it did when I had just thought about Malfoy. What. The. Hell? I managed a smile at Ron, all the same. I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings. However, the small smile that lit his face when he looked away was almost too much for me to bear. I didn't want to be giving him the wrong idea…

Suddenly, I could not sit there anymore. I had to go, to get out of that chair where I was sitting, out from behind my book. They both looked up at me.

"Library." I said, in explanation. They just nodded. No one doubted my library excuse. And surely, surely, _he _wouldn't be there this time of night. Of course not. I think then I subconsciously realized I was going down a path that I wasn't really sure about. One that started with me lying, even to myself.

I felt jumpy in the empty corridors. I shouldn't have. Sixth years were allowed out 'til ten and it was barely 8:20, by my watch. Yet still, I felt as if maybe someone was there with me. I couldn't explain it. I made it to the library fine though, and without anything eventful happening, not even an encounter with the school poltergeist, Peeves.

When I entered the library, Madam Pince looked up at the clock and then back at me, giving me a most disapproving look, as if I was being a problem by being in the library and hour and a half before it closed. It was very unusual, because Madam Pince and I usually got on quite well, owing to our love for books. But after a moment, the look became clear.

"Why, Miss Granger! I didn't recognize you at first." She was looking down her long nose at me. After another moment she smiled. "Surely, you don't have homework on the first night?" She asked.

"No ma'am." I replied. "But NEWT year, you know…thought I'd get a bit of a headstart…"

"Woman after my own heart." She said. "Well, I suppose I could leave the library open for a while shall I? Can't get any studying done up in the common rooms, what with all the racket…" she said disdainfully, showing exactly what she thought of that. "Of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. As a matter of fact," she replied glancing at the clock again, "I might just get you to close up when your done. No one else comes this late at night, and these old bones are tired. Would you mind, dear?" She asked. I told her that I wouldn't have a problem closing down for the night when I left. It was quite simple really, just turn off the lights and a simple locking charm on the door. The books had all already been put away for the evening. She bid me goodnight, and then went on her way. I smiled as I sat down with a pile of books. I wondered if any other student in the history of Hogwarts had ever seen Madam Pince's nice side. I doubted it.

I studied quietly for a few minutes, before I became aware of the feeling I'd had on the way here. It felt like there was someone else in the room. But surely not…? After all, Madam Pince had said that no one else came down here this late at night. She turned around to get a good look behind her.

A tall, muscular form with sleek blonde hair stepped from behind one of the bookshelves.

"Hello, Ganger." Malfoy said quietly.

Shit.

**Dun dun dun dun! How you like me now, with my cliff hangers? Evil aren't i? =D **

**Please review! **

**Meghan**


	5. Chapter 5

**And so the next chapter begins…**

**Forewarning: there is a little bit of—er—intimacy in this chapter between Draco and Hermione. I mean obviously if you're reading this you know it isn't meant for children's eyes, but I thought I'd give you a head's up anyway. Please review! **

I couldn't believe I had talked myself into coming down here, alone. I knew that I had felt weird coming down here, and I was willing to bet all my favorite books that Malfoy had been awaiting his chance to get me alone again. Why, oh why couldn't I have just told Madam Pince that I didn't want to be left alone?

I looked around for my wand anxiously, preparing to defend myself, but to my horror, I realized that it was still sitting on the table near the window in the common room. I looked around for another immediate sign of escape, but found none. I could try to run, but I was sure he wouldn't let me get away that easily, and he was much stronger and faster than I was. I wouldn't have gone ten paces before he'd had me in his grasp. And you know what they say about predators; they like to chase their prey. Well, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Instead, I tried to play it off coldly, like it was truly unpleasant to have met him here.

So, I did not greet him back, or answer him in any way. I merely glared, or rather, tried to glare. My whole body was not being compliant with my instructions to be pissed. I kept my facial features as angry as possible, but my stomach was filled with butterflies instead of nervousness, and my legs had turned to jelly. I backed up against the table for support, because I was afraid if I left it up to my legs to hold my weight at that moment, they wouldn't rise to the occasion.

"The proper response when someone says hello, Granger, is to greet them back." He said coolly. It felt like molten lava was moving through me. I had to think for a moment before I answered him; my brain was working at an all time slow, like it had been hit with the Impedimenta Jinx.

"Ha. _You're _giving _me _a lesson on etiquette? That's a laugh." Even through the unusual shock of whatever was going on in my body, I had to laugh at that one. Especially considering what he'd done in the train compartment today.

"Call it what you want." He replied, smirking. He was silent for another moment. I couldn't continue to look at him squarely. It was doing weird things to me. I figured I'd have a better chance of withstanding whatever advance he was planning if I was clearheaded. However, he seemed not affected in the slightest by my icy presence.

"So, have you thought about our little rendezvous earlier?" I tried so hard to keep my face blank when I answered him.

"Actually, I've been trying to get the memory of you trying to grope me out of my mind. And it worked quite well, actually." I could hear my own voice shaking, although I was trying to sound tough. Damn my parents for bringing me up to be truthful. I didn't think I could lie well even if it meant getting an A in a class. Or saving my own life. Well….maybe to get an A. If I had no other choice. But the problem was, I couldn't lie convincingly, not at all. And Malfoy saw right through it.

"I don't think you have." He moved closer to me. I tried to scoot away, but I couldn't go anywhere. I surely wasn't going to head for one of the corners where I would just be more trapped. Maybe once he got close enough I could slip past his arms. "In fact, I think you've been thinking about it quite a lot, Granger." I felt myself blush. Well, hell I might as well just confirmed in words what he'd just said. He just nodded and kept smirking. He was closer now. Funny, I'd never noticed before that his face, once you got past the meanness in his eyes, was actually quite nice looking…

_NO! Stop right there, Hermione! This is _Malfoy_! Get a grip on yourself! _But it was very hard to listen to my inner, more logical self just then. Malfoy was incredibly close. I was finding it extremely difficult to breathe, and my heart seemed to be following a quicker rhythm than usual.

No guy had ever affected me this way…not Krum, not Ron, not the boy I used to have a crush on before I found out I was a witch. Somehow, I could still feel my old hatred for Malfoy making my life hell for the past five years, but I felt a new emotion rising up and taking over.

Oh god. Lust. I'd never experienced it, but no doubt from the way the other girls talked, that's what it was. Shit. I was lusting after Malfoy. How the bloody hell did that happen? It was so…overpowering. In all my life, I'd never imagined that an emotion could take you over so fully.

He was completely in my personal space now, and parts of our bodies were touching. It was a good thing that there was no exposed skin that he was touching this time, or I was sure I was going to spontaneously combust. Wait…I'd thought this time. This meant, in the back of my mind, I was thinking there would be a next time…and NO! Damn, damn, damn him! I groaned slightly.

I realized my mistake a moment too late. Malfoy, who obviously contributed the sound to pleasure, pulled back a little away from me to look at my face.

"I haven't even touched you yet, Granger." The smirk and the tone of his voice were so confident, so cocky. I couldn't help but find it attractive. How that was possible, I had no clue. For the past several years, his attitude had done nothing but make me hate him more. But now…a forbidden though crossed my mind. I wondered what kind of lover he would be. I tried to stop the thought in its tracks. I had to get him away from me so I could think again.

"And you damn well better not, Malfoy." I hissed through clenched teeth. He smiled again and brought his hand to rest on my hip. I tried to slip sideways out of his grasp, but his other hand came around and grabbed my backside, pushing me closer to him. The audacity of that man! However, my anger quickly evaporated, in light of the new position he had me in. We were fully touching now, our bodies pressed up against one another. I stared at him disbelievingly.

"I think you want me to touch you…" he drawled, grinding ever so slightly against me. I had to suppress a sound that was trying to come out of the back of my throat. God…I might have been able to think better if he wasn't so close…if I couldn't feel how hard he was with want. For me.

"What," I asked quietly, "in Merlin's name, makes you think you have a right to do this?" I wasn't even angry anymore, although I definetly should have been. I was trying too hard to keep my breathing even, too busy trying to keep my only logical, rational thoughts running through my head, instead of straying to the bulge between my legs, that I could feel growing stiffer with every moment we spent in each others arms.

"Well," he started to say, "I think that if you really didn't want me next to you, you wouldn't have left your common room in the first place." He moved his lips to my neck, and bit me lightly. I tried to push him away with my hands, but he was too strong for me. Or perhaps I wasn't really trying. I honestly couldn't tell you which one it was. His lips explored my neck kissing, and nipping and sucking every once in a while ever so slightly. I'd never felt anything like it. My vision felt hazy.

He left a trail of hot, wet kisses leading lower down my neck. Every once in a while, he would use his tongue, drawing invisible, intricate patterns on my delicate skin. I had to keep myself from squirming with the pleasure of it was a moment before I realized that I was supposed to be defending myself against this onslaught.

"And how was I supposed to know that you'd follow me here?" I whispered into his chest. I felt every breath he took, and he seemed to be breathing hard as well. My hands were on his chest, not pushing him away, simply resting there. I could feel his heart beating. He didn't answer me for a moment, still working his way up and down my neck. The next time he spoke, his low, husky voice was in my ear.

"Oh, you knew. Don't play coy with me Granger." He nipped at my ear, and this time I could not suppress the moan that left my mouth. I was so shocked at myself. I could never, ever remember once reacting this way. But it felt so…intimate. And a part of me, although I was scared shitless to say it, thought it felt completely right. Heat was building inside of me, a thrilling kind of excitement running throughout my veins.

I could feel him through both of our robes, because he had me pressed so tightly up against him. Words escaped me; I could no longer think around the movement of his lips against my neck, or of his body against mine. Eventually we stumbled backwards onto the desk, me sitting and him standing in front of me, leaning down.

It was awkward at first, because he was so tall, and it was hard for him to reach me because I was sitting so far back on the table. I moved myself so that I was sitting at the very edge of the table, and I pressed against him once more. Merlin help me…but Malfoy felt so good against me.

Then, he slowly worked his lips away from my neck and towards my face. Oh god. He was going to kiss me. Somehow I just knew that if he did kiss me…it would seal the deal. Whatever we were doing. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to or not. I could tell by the way he hesitated that he was giving me a chance to refuse him. It was almost sweet(and totally unlike Malfoy), except for the fact that I could tell it wasn't any doubts that he had, because I could feel confidence practically radiating from the guy.

I didn't stop him. His lips crashed down hard on mine. He forced my mouth open, and ran his tongue across my bottom lip. I shivered in his embrace. He took that as a sign to go further, because suddenly, I was no longer sitting on the desk but he was actually holding me. Or carrying me rather. I guess he'd gotten tired of me sitting, because he'd carried me to a spare section of wall and set me down against it. He hadn't broke stride the entire time he moved me, his mouth fitting seamlessly against mine.

He pushed me roughly up against the wall, and buried his hands in my hair, pulling my face closer. I could hardly breathe. I couldn't think. And all I could feel was _him. _Him, pressed up against me, him, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine, and him, making me feel warm sensations that I'd never felt before. I don't know how long we stood there, holding each other.

Then, there was something cold on my skin, and the only reason I noticed was because the rest of my body felt like it was on fire. I broke away from him, shoving him hard against his chest. I looked down to my stomach, which was slightly revealed, and at his hand, which had been trying to inch its way up my shirt. I pushed him again, more forceful this time.

My mind came spinning back to me. I was doing some seriously heavy making out with Draco Malfoy. When he'd just been doing the same thing with Pansy Parkinson on the train not four hours ago. I'd promised myself I'd never give anyone a reason to look at me the way that they looked at her, and not even twenty four hours later, I'm having a steamy, private make out session with her boyfriend. I was blushing furiously, and trying to hold back tears. Damn him. Since when did he have such an effect on my emotions?

"Get off me, Malfoy." I spat. He didn't look abashed in any way what so ever. Just like always, smirking. However, he was slightly red faced, and the hunger in his eyes mirrored the hunger that had been in Ron's earlier. Only much, much stronger.

"Oh my god." I said, and I covered most of my face with my hand. "I can't believe I just…"

"What?" he asked mockingly. "You can't tell me you didn't enjoy yourself." Again with the cockiness. But I was too confused to care.

"Why?" I asked him simply, starting into his startling grey eyes. He shrugged, but met my stare head on.

"I want you." He said simply. "And there aren't many things that I want that I don't get." He sauntered back over to the table, leaving me fuming against the wall. He sat down lazily on the chair, and stared at me.

"I won't give into you." I promised him. And it was also a promise to myself. One I prayed to Merlin that I'd be able to keep.

"Well, judging by the past, ohh…" he looked at his watch. "Forty-five minutes or so we've spent in each other's company, I'd say your halfway there, love."

"Don't call me that!" I said. I hadn't moved from the wall. I felt like I was glued there.

"What would you have me call you, then?" he asked sarcastically. "I daresay you'd rather 'love' than Mudblood." I winced at the rude name.

"Granger's the most civil thing you've ever called me, so let's stick with that." I finally was able to make myself move from my position on the wall. "But I'm not doing this anymore Malfoy." I shook my head. I felt like each of my limbs weighed a ton. If this was the downside to lust, the after part, I wasn't so sure the first part was worth it. Especially not with Malfoy. Oh who the hell was I kidding? I was having trouble keeping my distance from him even now.

"Why ever not?" he asked, seemingly honestly surprised. I gave him a look.

"Really Malfoy?" He still looked confused. I sighed. Of course he, the Slytherin sex god, Mr. Make-the-girls-say-"take-me-I'm-yours!" Malfoy would surely never understand why a girl wouldn't be willing to lay down and spread her legs for him.

"Look, I know all the Slytherins are infatuated with you, and a lot of girls in the other houses too, but I'm not one of them all right?"

"Could have fooled me." He stated, crossing his arms and leaning his chair back. It was odd to be having such a normal conversation with him. Well, if you could count us discussing why I wasn't going to allow him to bed me being a normal conversation.

"I'm not saying it wasn't—er, nice…" I said, casting about for the right word. "But I'm really just not that type of girl. I don't run around all day trying to find someone to keep me company at night." He barked out a laugh.

"Granger, you're funny. You make it sound like your having a sleepover, instead of calling it what it is. Does it bother you that yes; I want to have hot wild sex with you?" I actually winced at him saying the words out loud. He sat the chairs down on all fours and smiled at me. "Do you not like the word sex? It's a perfectly normal thing. Lots of people do it every day, although obviously not some…" he said, giving me an appreciative look and a wink. I blushed and felt extremely flustered.

"There's nothing wrong with…I mean who cares if I haven't…." He just smirked and shook his head.

"What were you waiting for anyway? I know Krum and Weasly both would have done you in a heartbeat if you'd dropped any hints."

"What an incredibly vulgar thing to say!" I was shocked. How could he think so lowly of women? Or even of his own gender? Just because HE thought about…doing it…twenty four hours a day didn't mean every male did!

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Hey, I'm not complaining, it just means I get to have you first. Even better." I was absolutely astounded at his brash, bold words. He seemed so sure that he'd have no problem making it happen.

"Who says you get to 'have me' at all, Malfoy?" I asked. I didn't wait for him to answer, but set about putting the rest of the books that I'd been reading back on the shelves. It was too bad I hadn't gotten as much done as I'd wanted to. He followed me around, watching me as I stacked them back into an orderly fashion, but he didn't help me any.

"Well, why not? I mean, I'm a good looking bloke. I'm experienced, so you know I could give you a good time." He smiled his self satisfied smirk again. He was really starting to irritate me, now that he was acting like his old, immature self, and not the seductive man he'd been earlier.

"You really think you're something don't you?" I asked.

"Why, as a matter of fact I do." He said smugly.

"Well," I said, turning around to face him. "It may interest you to know that I'm just waiting for the right person to come along, and then commit himself to me before I give him that much of myself."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" he asked. "You're going to…what, wait until you're engaged or something?"

"That's right." I said sweetly, and smiled smugly in his face. It made me want to laugh at the look on his face. It was pure shock.

"Why, in the name of Merlin would you want to do that? Having sex with one person in your entire life? _Ever?_" He sounded stunned that a person could want such a thing.

"Yes, Malfoy. One. I'm not a slut."

"No, just a tease," he snapped. I felt like he'd hit me in the face, and my eyes started to water again. I tried to remind myself that this was Malfoy, and I shouldn't let him get to me this way.

"And you're just a jerk who thinks he needs a good lay. Well, I've got news for you Draco Malfoy; I'm not one of those stupid little girls who think the whole damned universe revolves around you. You and I are not having sex, EVER. Got it?" He glared at me. "Now get out. I need to close the library." He didn't say anything, but swept out the door.

I was hoping against all hope that he'd been so pissed off that he left, but of course, fate wasn't going to let me go that easily. As I diminished the last lamp, and then secured the door, I felt his cold hand grab my wrist.

"You're going to eat your words, Granger. You just wait. I'll have you begging me to let you come have a roll in my bed." He kissed me hard on the lips, but only for a moment. He looked at me for a second more, and then turned and walked away, his cloak swishing as he went. I watched him walk down the corridor and then turn out of sight.

What had I gotten myself into?

**Eh? What did you think? I promise, I have no intention of the entire story being smut, but if a little comes in here and there…well it wouldn't be so bad, now would it? Hee hee. **

**But don't worry…Hermione isn't giving IN that easily, and Draco isn't giving UP that easily. I had a very interesting idea from a reviewer, and I'll be trying to work that into the next chapter. I think you'll enjoy all the goodness that we're planning. =D **

**Oh, and I'm really curious as to whether you all liked it in Draco's point of view or not, to determine if I'll do it again. I must admit though…it's hard writing from a guy's point of view. **

**Anyway please remember to click that little review button at the bottom, and I'll be eternally grateful!**

**Meghan**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't know if it's just because I'm updating so much or whatnot, but the lack of reviews is ridiculous. Come on…over 2000 hits on a story, 49 people on an alert list, and 13 on a favorites list….I'm just saying. You could all take the time to leave one. **

**Heck, if you're in a rush, just leave a little smiley face! Am I asking too much?**

**Sheesh.**

**Meghan.**

**Disclaimer: This plot is mine. The characters, sadly, are not.**

I stalked away from Granger furiously. I could feel her eyes on my back the whole way down the corridor, until I turned the corner. I'd meant what I'd said. I'd have her in no time.

But bloody hell, she'd given me a shock. She wanted to wait until she was friggin' _engaged _before she let a man in between those amazing legs? I just didn't get it. Why would someone want to be with only one person? You wouldn't know what you were missing out on with all the other people. One needed to test the waters, before they settled down, if they ever decided to.

There were so many things about that conversation that just weren't right. I mean, she should have practically fainted when I called her 'love.' It was the nicest thing I'd ever called her, that's for sure. But instead of taking to it, she'd insisted I'd call her Granger! Then, after snogging her senseless for over half an hour, she'd had the nerve to tell me that she wasn't doing this anymore! How did that woman's brain work?

I ran my hand through my already ruffled hair. This might be harder than I thought. Apparently, the direct approach wasn't working. Not that it hadn't made her feel everything I'd intended her to feel, but her stubbornness and reason was somehow overruling the rest of it all.

Although, I admit, I may have been a bit hasty trying to get a little bit of a feel. It had shocked her, woken her to the realization of what she was doing. I should have known it was much, much too soon for Goody Granger. I'd been lucky to get as much work done on her that I had. She'd barely even pushed me way in the beginning, and as things progressed, she seemed completely at ease snogging me. She'd just seemed so into it that I'd acted without thinking.

This was something that didn't happen very often. Even though, yes, I had my sensory pleasures with other women, I'd never completely lost my head like I had just now with her. I'd never felt so…well, not in control. A part of me hated it, the dominant, controlling part; but another part of me had to admit it was the hottest thing I'd ever experienced. It was amazing what she turned me into when I was with her physically…and we hadn't even done anything _truly _worth my time yet. I shook my head again.

I had to try to get around her wall of defense. If I could penetrate that, I had no doubt that she would, and probably very willingly, go to bed with me. But damn if I couldn't figure out how. I'd reached the door to the dungeon where our common room was. And suddenly, I realized that it would take more than my cunning alone to accomplish my goal.

"Toujours Pur" I said, and the door swung open. **(A/N: I figured the Black family motto was fitting for a Slytherin password.) **Two of my mates were sitting near the dying embers of the fire, talking quietly. The common room was mostly deserted. I made my way over to them. Blaise Zambini and Theodore Nott were both in my year, and brighter than both of my cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Most of the time when I needed advice, I went to them. They stopped talking as I approached.

"Draco." Blaise said, inclining his head ever so slightly towards me. Theo said nothing, but sat stony and silent.

"Blaise." I greeted him. "I have…a problem, which I could use your help with. Both of you." I don't know if it was the tone of my voice or the look on my face, but one or the other caught their attention.

"We're listening." Theo said. "What's your dilemma?"

"Well, you see, I've been getting rather bored lately….the Slytherin girls are all wonderful, but I feel it's time to make headway in new territory." They both looked shocked.

"Gryffindors would be quite a lovely challenge, wouldn't you say?" I continued. Slowly an evil smile spread across Blaise's face. Theo's face did not change in the slightest.

"Excellent." Blaise said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Who? The Weasly girl is pretty enough, and I'd love to see what kind of fight she's got in her…not that Brown girl or the Patil twin though, they're both a right pain in the arse; it wouldn't be worth the trouble, and—"

"Actually, I was thinking Granger." Theo's face was visually shocked, and a hiss escaped his mouth.

"The Mudblood? Have you lost it completely, Draco?" Blaise too, looked unnerved.

"Your father would kill you. Besides, what would you want to touch a filthy little thing like her anyway? At least Weasly is only a blood traitor…it's a step up."

"Have you seen Granger lately?" I asked them. "Mudblood or not, she's got a body that would make both of you pant like dogs. I'm not planning on making any commitments. But I want her…can you just imagine what kind of challenge she'll give us?" They both seemed to be thinking over it for a moment. I decided to go ahead and drop the bombshell on them.

"And she's a virgin." The light seemed to catch both their eyes; it was always something to gain another notch in our metaphorical belt. I could see that they had both decided that they could over look Granger's blood status.

"The thing is," I began again, "she's acting just like the stubborn arse, know-it-all that she is. I've tried to make advances on her; once on the train, and just now in the library."

"And?" Theo said impatiently.

"The first time, she hexed me. Where no man wants to be hexed exactly." Both of them winced in empathy. "But, just now, we had a lovely little snogging session. Lasted for a good while too." Blaise whistled lowly, clearly impressed that I'd made this much headway already.

"But," finished up, " I got a little carried away I suppose, and the next thing I know, she's pushing me away and telling me that she won't do it anymore. Of course, she didn't say that she didn't _want_ to stop." I smirked at the both of them. I conveniently left out the part about what Granger had said about waiting until she was engaged. I don't know why I didn't tell them. Normally we would have gotten a laugh out of it, and it just would have made the game that much more fun. But for some reason, I felt the need to hold that silence for her, at least. "So, what do you think?" I asked them.

"I think we should get Marcus's advice too." Theo said. I nodded my head. He got up from his chair and turned to the door on the left side of the common room that led down to the boy's dormitories.

"So, when did you decide you were going to do this?" Blaise asked conversationally. For a moment, I felt slightly ashamed of us. Here we were, talking about seducing a woman and taking her virginity as if it were some kind of sport. Which it basically was. But the moment passed.

"On the train today when I saw her."

"How'd you get her alone?" I chucked as I relayed the story to him. He looked thoroughly impressed.

"Huh. Granger. Well, it ought to be fun, at the very least." At this time, Theo came back through the door with not only Marcus Flint, but Gregory Goyle as well. He shrugged.

"He heard me getting Marcus and tagged along." It wasn't really a problem. Goyle just wouldn't be very helpful to the planning process.

"I've already caught them both up on what's going on." Theo said. Marcus smirked approvingly at me.

" I wouldn't have thought of it myself. Well, I mean, I've thought of it, but not actually following through with it. After seeing her on the train…who wouldn't want to be the one to claim her?"

And so, we plotted and planned for several hours. It was frustrating for us to try to think of abstract ways to make an advance on her. Usually the direct approach worked so well for us that we need not resort to this.

The others had wanted their turns with her as well, Theo and Blaise especially were jockeying to be at the front of the line, but I put my foot down.

"No. At least not now. When I'm done, have all the fun you want, but for right now, Granger is _mine._" I hissed threateningly to them. They knew not to anger a Malfoy when they truly wanted something, especially something that was just out of their grasp. They did not question my abrupt response, because they knew I wanted to be the first with her, since this was going to be such a test, and since it had been my idea. What they did not know was that I also insisted on being with her first because I could not bear the thought of any of them inside of her. I'd carefully stated that 'when I was done' they could have her, but I did not plan to be done with her any time in the near future. Perhaps, once I tired of her, then they could have her. But not now. We sat there until the wee hours of the morning, until finally I heard a soft voice call, "Draco?" I turned around to see Pansy standing in the doorway, dressed very scantily in an emerald green teddy.

"I've been waiting for you." She pouted. I heard the sniggers of the other guys around me.

"Hey, at least I'm getting laid tonight. What are you buffoons doing?" That sobered them up at once.

"I think I'll turn in." Marcus said grudgingly. The others murmured an agreement and all filed past Pansy. Every single one of them raked their eyes over her. If anything she seemed to enjoy the attention. If anything, she did not move out of the doorway, and so they were forced to pass incredibly close by her. I could have sworn I saw Theo's hand graze her upper, exposed, thigh. I didn't care. If I had other women, why shouldn't she have other men? I wondered if she'd be angry if she knew that I was planning on bedding Granger; that I felt a spark much more fierce with the Mudblood than I'd ever felt with Pansy.

"Are you coming?" She purred, leaning suggestively against the doorway. I said nothing but simply walked over to her side. She pulled me along the hallway, gliding gracefully backwards and she worked on unbuttoning my shirt. I had to give her this: Pansy knew what she was doing, and she was good at it.

She brought me to my room, and I could feel my need building, feeding on the lust that had come from what little I'd done earlier with Granger. We fell eagerly to the bed.

And yet, hours later, when finally asleep, I still felt my need. It appeared that any sex just wasn't going to do…and that I'd have to have Granger around me before I was fully satisfied.

**Okay, so not such a long chapter. And yes, I know, I didn't really go into detail about Draco and Pansy. But why would I? I don't like them together anyway. Ick. But she's kind of crucial to the story at this point. For Draco at least. **

**Please, please, please review! I hate having to beg, but I'll do it if that's what it takes!**

**Meghan**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know this is like the fourth chapter I've updated in two days…I'm binge writing, okay? I have way too many ideas bouncing around in my head right now, and my beta's are working on my other story that I'm trying to do at the moment, and I have to do SOMETHING because it bugs me having all these ideas bouncing around up there and I can't think properly or concentrate on anything else. Plus this story just seems to basically write itself. **

**I appreciate all the attention the story is getting, and I really want to keep writing, but I might have to refrain myself if some reviews don't start coming in soon. **

**Oh, and a big thank you to xxfallblossomsxx for helping me develop this part of the plot with Malfoy and the other Slytherins. Your ideas were brilliant!**

**Happy reading!**

**Meghan**

I didn't sleep that night, once I'd finally made it back to the common room. It was late, and everyone had gone to bed, including Harry and Ron. I made my way silently up the girl's staircase and crept into my shared dormitory. I needn't have worried, for Parvati, Lavender and Claire were all snoozing away. Lavender was snoring gently. I slid quietly under my covers on my four poster bed, not bothering to undress.

I closed my eyes and lay there for quite a long while. Despite the lateness of the hour however, I wasn't the least bit sleepy. No, I was alternating between replaying the events from the library earlier, and trying to forget them. Sleep was useless, obviously. So I tried distracting myself with a book instead.

I pulled the lacy hangings around my bed together; the wall of fabric assured that I wouldn't wake the others.

"_Lumos." _I murmured, and my wand tip flared brightly to life. I propped my book, _Important Jinxes for the Avid Spellcaster_, and began to read by the light of my wand. The book was actually quite interesting, enough so to keep my mind from wandering. If Harry were still teaching the D.A. he would have found this book extremely useful. I wondered if our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year would use any of the spells out of this book. With a slight groan, I remembered that Professor Snape was now teaching Defense classes.

I plunged my hand through the hangings, and groped around on the floor, feeling for the schedule that I'd dropped their earlier. I was amazed to see that the lightest rays of sunlight spilled past the dark curtains when they opened slightly for my hand to fit through. I moved the hangings slightly more to the side and stretched. I couldn't believe that it was already morning. I'd read through the entire night.

I debated quickly on whether to try to go down to the prefect's bathroom a floor down or just go ahead and use our shared dormitory bathroom. I decided that no one else was probably up yet, and so chose to just remain here and clean up quickly. As I'd predicted, none of the other girls were awake, so both of the showers in our dormitory bathroom were free. I chose the larger of the two showers, and turned on the hot water. While I waited for the water to heat up, I turned and looked in the mirror. My hair was mussed, from tossing and turning last night, trying to find a comfortable position to read. I smiled, because it was so tangled that it almost looked like it's old, bushy self. I sighed when I remembered that I couldn't keep it that way. I stepped into the warmth of water and began getting cleaned up.

The water felt good, but it made my feelings from last night come rushing back. That's what Draco did to me. That feeling…like hot water cascading all over me, except it went much deeper than just skin deep. It felt like his kisses had turned my bones to molten lava, as if my body had been truly and inexplicably changed by him. What a silly notion.

I realized after I'd stepped out of the shower that I hadn't thought of him as Malfoy in my mind, but as Draco. I smacked myself on the forehead. ONE kiss could not have made me feel this different towards him! Albeit, it was an incredibly long kiss, but still! I really had to talk to someone about it.

I could no longer bring it up to Harry and Ron, or if I did, risk them finding out about Dr—Malfoy and I's little snogging session. Then I remembered that I'd promised to tell Ginny anyway…and I could trust her. She may not agree with what I'm doing, or had done, but I knew that if I really didn't want her to, she wouldn't tell a soul. Maybe she could talk some sense into me. I quickly dressed in the clothes that I had brought with me. I didn't pause to comb my hair or anything.

By the time I got back into our dormitory, the other three girls were awake. Claire was busy trying to tame her unruly hair into a ponytail. It was nowhere as bushy as mine had been, but her large curls were still quite a match for her. Lavender was gathering clothes to take a shower, and Parvati was waiting on her. Claire liked to clean up at night versus in the morning. It gave her more time, she said, and also gave her a clean feeling before bed. She was out the door before Lavender was ready.

"See you at breakfast." She called to us. Parvati just made a small "mmmhmmm" sound, as though she were too sleepy to formulate a sentence. Lavender tried to smile at her, but ended up yawning instead. The pair of them weren't exactly early risers. Not willingly, anyway. I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for them to clear out of the room. Once they had done so, I rushed to the next door over, a little ways down the stair case to the fifth year girl's dormitory. Ginny was just putting on socks while sitting on the edge of her bed.

I grabbed her arm, with no explanation or good morning and drug her unceremoniously from the room. She sputtered angrily, but I wasn't listening. Once I'd reached my room again, I locked the door and said the Silencio spell. I was sure Lavender and Parvati wouldn't be back for a long time, but I didn't want to be interrupted.

"What," Ginny mumbled, her voice somewhere between angry and sleepy, "the bloody hell was that all about?"

"You wanted to know what was wrong didn't you?" I asked.

"Not so early in the morning, I didn't." she retorted grumpily. She sighed in resignation however, and made a "go on" motion with her hand.

"I have a big problem." I began.

"We all do, Hermione. It's called a period and it happens once a month." She joked. I blushed red.

"No…I…" and suddenly, it was all spilling out of my mouth. Ginny gaped, open mouthed as I relayed first what Draco, dammit, _Malfoy_, had done on the train, and then what had transpired last night. When I was finished she stared at me in awe.

"Let me get this straight. He basically molested you, and then a few hours later you're snogging his brains out?" I hated that she'd put it so crudely.

"That's the bare assessment of the situation, yes." I said dryly.

"Have you told Harry or Ron?" I blushed again. "No, of course not." She sighed.

"And I'd be really, really grateful if you wouldn't tell them either." I pleaded with her.

"Damn it Hermione, why are you asking this of me?" She glared. "I mean, they aren't as perceptive as I am, but EVENTUALLY they'll figure out something's up and when you won't answer them, they'll be asking me. I don't want to lie to them."

"I had to talk to you about it!" I said, frantic now. "You're the only one I could trust, Ginny!" She looked slightly mollified, but still a little miffed.

"Fine," she said. "But you already know what I think. This is a big mistake." She shook her head. "Anything that involves Malfoy can't possibly be good. But I won't tell you what to do." She stood up and walked towards the door.

"Thank you Ginny." I said, and I meant it.

"Whatever," she said, and opened the door. A very red faced and angry looking Lavender stood there in a towel with her wet hair streaming down her back.

"I've been standing here yelling for almost ten minutes Hermione! I come back down to get my loofah, and the damn doors locked, and you silenced the room so you couldn't hear me!" She was seriously pissed off. "I know you need your privacy for studying or whatever, but this is really too far." She grabbed her loofah from her bedside table and left with a huff. Ginny laughed at her disappearing back.

"See you downstairs." She gave a wave and left. I finished getting ready quickly and went downstairs, because I didn't want to miss out on breakfast. However, when I came down to the common room, Ginny was giving me a grim looking face.

"What?" I asked, as she pulled me over to the side.

"Have you seen the patrol list for this week?" She hissed at me. I told her no, with everything that had happened the night before, I had completely forgotten to check it.

"You have patrol with Malfoy on Tuesday, and With Ron on Friday." She said quickly and lowly. I groaned.

How did these things happen to me?

**Hope you enjoyed. I didn't want to end it there, but I have to go to work, and I figured with everything else I've given ya'll to read, it should be okay. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'd fully intended to write another chapter when I got home from work last night, but I was exhausted and dropped off to sleep almost at once. Sorry!**

**Please review! I'd be so grateful! To the people who have reviewed already, thank you so much! I got an anonymous review with just smiley's…which is totally awesome! Ha-ha! I love it! So please, just take the time to hit that little review button down there!**

**Meghan**

I thought possibly for some reason that Ginny might have been playing a bad joke on me, when unfortunately she was not. I doubled checked the schedule myself. Sure enough, there it was, glaring up at me from the notice board.

**Prefect Schedule/First Week of Term**

**Monday: Pansy Parkinson, Ernie McMillan **

**Tuesday: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy **

**Wednesday: Hannah Abott, Terry Boot **

**Thursday: Padma Patil, Ernie McMillan **

**Friday: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasly **

Having a patrol with Malfoy was going to be bad enough, but then, three days later, spending an entire evening in Ron's company? I still had no intentions of telling him about anything that had happened between Draco and me. I groaned. My stomach turned over at the thought of both of those evenings of patrolling corridors. Left alone, for hours at a time with either Ron or Malfoy. I involuntarily shuddered.

"Come on," I said, pulling her down the stairs with me. I wanted to just go and eat some breakfast, and try and forget for the moment what was going on. Ron and Harry were already at the table. Ron up at me brightly and almost confidently.

"So, patrol together Friday!" he said, sounding enthusiastic. Damn, I hated giving him the wrong impression, but his face was so radiant that I couldn't help but smile back at him. His eyes seemed to light up even more once I'd returned his gaze. Harry very pointedly coughed in his hand, and I could see the smirk on his face. Ron blushed and looked away. "It's too bad about Malfoy, though, eh?" he said, shaking his head in sympathy and trying to keep his voice even. I could feel Ginny's gaze on the back of my neck when I answered.

"Umm—yeah, bad." I said, nodding. I was hardly aware of what I was saying. Ginny and Harry started up a conversation about Quidditch trials and Ron quickly joined them. I was never fonder of the stupid sport than at that moment for diverting his attention from me.

I glanced, what I thought, was sneakily across the hall. I didn't really know what I was I was looking for, until I found my gaze met by a pair of grey blue eyes. I gasped. Draco—er—Malfoy, was looking at me. Once he realized that he had caught my eye, he winked. My mouth dropped open. What on earth? It was one think to make a very hormonal advance on me when we were all alone…winking at me in the Great Hall where anyone could see, however, was an entirely different matter. Thankfully, Ginny, Harry and Ron were all absorbed in their conversation, and didn't see it.

I looked back at him. He smirked at me, and I blushed. What the hell was wrong with me? Malfoy was practically flirting with me! And I was reacting like any other teenage girl! I felt embarrassed, which only made me blush more. I flung my gaze away from him. I hoped with all my heart that I could avoid him for the rest of the day (and possibly the better part of my life) or I wouldn't be able to keep my mind concentrated on my classes. In fact, I was almost certain that they'd roam to him, and what his lips and hands had been doing last night. I shook my head, trying to clear it.

Everything in my thoughts was a jumbled mess. Logical me said that I'd made the smart move, and not to let it happen again, and for good measure to tell Harry and Ron so I wouldn't be tempted again. Rebellious me argued that stopping things from going further was solely the most stupid thing I'd ever done, and to meet up with him again as soon as possible. Needless to say, Logical me was scared silly about the patrol with Malfoy, and Rebellious me was greatly anticipating the events to come.

I left the Great Hall and headed for the common room. I needed to pick up my book bag before I took off to my first hour Ancient Runes class. I sighed in relief, Malfoy had never been in my Runes class, and he wouldn't have been able to get into the NEWT level class.

I made it back to the tower in plenty of time. I had through my trunk for a moment to grab my already bulging book bag. I threw in _Important Jinxes for the Avid Spellcaster in_ for good measure, just in case I finished my work early in one class or another. I was itching to start the next chapter on it. I slung the heavy bag over my shoulder, surprised that it hadn't ripped by now. I made my way down the stairs, two floors down, and a couple of corridors over to my Ancient Runes class. I was the first one to the door, as per normal.

Professor Bathsheda Babbling looked up from her paperwork. **(A/N: This really is the ancient runes teacher's name. If you don't believe me, go to Wikipedia online and look up Hogwarts, Ancient Runes.)**

"Hermione!" she said. "What a delightful surprise! Well, I rather hoped you'd be back." She smiled benignly at me. Well of course she hoped I'd be back. I was her most promising student, and she'd told me countless times that I'd have a great future in Runes if that was my chosen career field. I greeted her and then sat down in my desk just as the bell rang out across the grounds signaling that the rest of the class would be here soon.

There were only seven other people in the NEWT level Ancient Runes class. Four of them were Ravenclaws, one was a Slytherin girl I didn't know, and the last one was Claire.

"Hey, Hermione!" She said brightly, taking the seat next to me. "Knew you'd be here. Didn't really want to take the class, but they say you really should have it if you want to be able to be a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts!" Claire sighed dramatically. She'd always wanted to travel and have adventures.

"Why didn't you want to take it?" I asked, aghast. Professor Babbling's lessons were always interesting to me, and translating runes from ancient languages intrigued me to no end. Yes, it was hard work, but greatly worth it.

"Well," she said, twirling her hair, "The class is great and everything, I just hate spending so much time reviewing most of the stuff…I actually want to get out in the real world and apply it!" The Slytherin girl sitting a few desks away huffed haughtily as if she doubted such a thing were possible. We both glared at her, but before any of us three could say anything, Professor Babbling caught the classes attention and began her lesson. I forgot all about the haughty Slytherin girl and anything else, because the NEWT level Runes class was absolutely riveting. Sure, it was harder, but I loved a good challenge. And what a challenge it was! When class was over, Professor Babbling gave us our homework and sent us off with a hearty wave.

"Three pages, filled to the brim mind you, of new vocabulary words to translate!" Claire said angrily. "What's Babbling playing at?"

"Well, it is our NEWT year; all the classes are bound to be harder aren't they?" I reminded her. "And you were the one who said you were tired of the old words!" She sent me an angry look. I just laughed and waved goodbye. My next class was double Transfiguration, and then I had Arithmacy. Both of these classes passed without incident; unless you count Seamus somehow managing to turn the straight back wooden chairs we were supposed to be transforming into a beanbag into a walrus instead, with no clue to how it had happened. McGonagall spent nearly twenty minutes just trying to stop the thing from rampaging around her classroom. Finally, when she cornered it, she was able to Vanish it with a flick of her wand. The rest of the class broke into giggles as McGonagall turned to face Seamus furiously, and went about setting him lines.

Arithmacy passed quickly. It was one class that didn't seem to get much harder. Professor Vector did start off the lesson lecturing them about their NEWT scores though, reminding them that it determined what jobs they could apply for.

I felt nervous about those upcoming exams. Sure I'd gotten eleven 'Outstanding' OWLS and one 'Exceeds Expectations', but it didn't mean anything.

However, when I stepped into the dungeons to face Professor Snape for a double block of Defense Against the Dark arts, I could tell my day was about to get a whole lot worse. I groaned. We were, yet _again _sharing this Defense period with the Slytherins. Damn it all. And my day had been going so much better too!

Rebellious me cheered in the back of my head.

I sat down at a table in the front and middle of the room. I chose it because it was furthest away from the Slytherins, and therefore Malfoy, and was sure to be able to concentrate much better without him sitting near me. Most of the students gradually filed in. I saw a flash of blonde over in one corner and I was sure it was Malfoy, but I didn't dare look any closer for fear of losing it. I was never happier when I saw Ron walk in the door.

"Ron!" I called, beaming. He caught my eye and smiled back, and came to sit down at the desk with me. I could have sworn I heard the almost inaudible sound of someone in the room grinding their teeth together. Ron sat down next to me happily. I chanced a quick look behind me, over to where the group of Slytherins were joined. Malfoy was indeed looking at me, and he did not look happy at all. I turned away from him, worrying that he would try to do something.

I felt sorry for a moment that Harry wouldn't be able to sit with us, when I realized that the desk was only meant for two, and squeezing more people around the table would have been next to impossible because the only part that was open was the back of it. There was barely enough room for Ron and me to fit under the desk, and Harry simply wouldn't be able to cram underneath it.

I forgot the problem of Harry though once Ron's hand grazed mine under the table. I did not jerk away from his touch, and in another moment he had swept his hand over mine again. He smiled tentatively at me. Damn him and that look! It made me feel so guilty for responding to his affections, but I just couldn't hurt him.

Yes, Ron was adorable, but I'd pretty much come to the conclusion that I wasn't attracted to Ron that way. Logical me was furious. After all, Ron was the logical choice, and spurning him in my head went against everything that Logical me stood for. I tried to reason with my conscience, telling it that when Ron touched me there was no butterflies, no shock of electricity to my veins. Logical me accepted this answer, until Rebellious me reminded me that I'd felt both of those things with Draco.

I willed her to shut up.

Harry entered the room, and then saw Ron and I sitting together. He gave Ron a thumbs up that I don't think I was supposed to see, and went to sit next to Neville instead. Neville instantly welcomed Harry warmly to the table. I doubt he'd ever had anyone willingly come over a join him just because. Snape entered the dungeon through a side chamber off of the classroom where I only assumed his personal quarters were. He flicked his wand and the door banged shut. Silence swept over the classroom immediately.

"Today, we will be discussing the lasting effects of the Dementors Kiss." Of course Snape could hardly have picked a more grisly or testing subject on the first day of class. Before he could begin his lecture though, his eyes fixed on a point over my shoulder.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked. I internally sighed. Whatever Draco was about to say probably wouldn't be very good.

"I'm sorry Professor, but I can't see from back here. Is there any way I could please move to the front so I could pay better attention?" he drawled. Snape to my horror, nodded.

"Weasly, move. Take the seat next to Mr. Thomas." Ron, very reluctantly left my side. I grimaced at him, but made a "go on" movement with my hand. Rebellious me was about to burst with pleasure. Draco sauntered down the aisle and calmly sat next to me.

"Thank you, Professor." Malfoy said, almost believably. Snape simply nodded and turned to write notes for his lecture on the board. As soon as he had turned his back, I rounded on Malfoy.

"What the _hell _do you think you're doing?" I hissed at him under my breath. He smiled at me innocently and spread his arms wide, as if he was trying to prove he had nothing to hide.

"Why, Granger, I'm not doing anything at all." He said, his voice radiating fake innocence. Then he smirked at me. I gave a little huff and turned back to the board. Snape began his lecture, and for a while, I thought that was going to be the end of it. However, about halfway through the lesson, Malfoy placed his hand, almost casually on my leg. I shook him off. He just put it back. I was in a horribly awkward position. I couldn't say or do anything that might arouse suspicion with the other students, or Snape, but I couldn't just let Malfoy keep his hand there. But maybe….as long as it stayed _right there_, we wouldn't have a problem.

But of course I should have known….this is Malfoy we're talking about. His fingers grazed the hem of my skirt. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Ah, ah, ah, Granger…" Malfoy said so lowly that only I could hear him. I knew that he knew I wouldn't do anything or risk revealing what I had already neglected to say to my best friends. He had my trapped, again, even if it was only figuratively this time. His hand slid further up my thigh, and pushed my skirt up ever so slightly with it. I hissed slightly, and although I would never admit it, it was more because of the surge of pleasure I'd felt than anger. Men quill started shaking as I tried to meticulously keep taking notes and ignore what was going on under the desk. I sneaked a quick look over at Draco's face. He seemed for all the world as though he were intent upon the lesson, not anything in his appearance letting on what he was truly doing.

Suddenly, his hand moved swiftly his hand slid further up my thigh, and pushed my skirt up ever so slightly with it. I hissed slightly, and although I would never admit it, it was more because of the surge of pleasure I'd felt than anger. Men quill started shaking as I tried to meticulously keep taking notes and ignore what was going on under the desk. I sneaked a quick look over at Draco's face. He seemed for all the world as though he were intent upon the lesson, not anything in his appearance letting on what he was truly doing.

Suddenly, his hand moved swiftly upwards, further even than where my jeans had been ripped. Upwards, further even than where my jeans had been ripped. I barely caught the moan in time before it escaped my mouth. I could no longer hold on the quill I'd been writing with. I set it down delicately, and folded my hands together. I hoped I looked like I was paying attention.

While his advance had definetly not been an invite, it did not feel like an intrusion as much as I had thought it would. Logical me was screaming in my head to do anything to get out of what was happening, and Rebellious me finally managed to shut her up. It was a good thing too. I had enough problems going on at the moment without voices in my head too.

Even though I knew what his intention had been from the moment he put his hand on my leg, it was still a shock when I felt him lightly fingering my undergarments beneath my skirt.

"Lace?" he asked quietly, huskily. He sounded surprised, but also very, very intrigued. I didn't dare say anything, as I was afraid my voice would betray me if I did. The warm sensation that I'd felt last night was spreading throughout me, and more forcefully this time. I was having trouble breathing. My nether regions where throbbing, aching. His hand was still softly caressing the lacy black underwear that I was thanking the gods my mother had bought for me. I felt very, very warm.

Ever so slightly, he pushed my undergarment out of the way. My mouth was watering, my heart beat accelerated, and I felt as though I was going to explode. God, he was taunting me. It was agony. I just wanted him to touch me…just once. Rebellious me acted before I could think. I took my folded hands from the table and placed them in my lap, which was not so bad. What happened next was bad. I took the part of his forearm that was sticking out of the bottom side of the rumpled up skirt, and moved his hand slightly upwards.

I felt like fireworks had just exploded inside my brain. I couldn't see, feel, think _anything _that wasn't related to his hand touching me. I had enough nerve to look over at him. He could not completely hide the surprise look on his shocked face, but when he saw I was looking, quickly covered it up with a cocky smile. Ha. He wasn't as confident as he'd like to think he was then.

Very, very slowly, he drug a finger along the edge of my opening. I thought I was going to scream. It was incredible that something that seemed so monumentous to me was going completely ignored by everyone else. For that, I was glad. He continued to tease me, never going farther than an inch or so inside me. I wanted to close my eyes and beg him to give me relief from what he was doing. But I'd never be so brazen. Then again, I would have never imagined that I'd let, no _gotten _Draco Malfoy to touch me this way. I scooted closer to the edge of the chair so that I was further under the desk. I was hoping he'd get the hint. He chuckled lowly, and it raised goosebumps along my spine.

Instead of pushing deeper inside me however, he seemed to just increase in his momentum. Faster and faster he went, until I could feel that feeling building inside of me…something I'd never experienced before, but knew exactly what it was. My hand clutched his arm.

And then, like lightening, his hand was gone. Cool air came between my legs where his hand had so recently been. I closed my legs shut, never realizing that they'd been that open in the first place. I looked at him with fury. What was he playing at? He didn't catch my eye, but I knew he saw me glaring, because he smirked. God…this was so unfair. I was actually sitting there, wanting his to go _back _ to the previous position it had been in, when just yesterday I'd told him that I wasn't doing this anymore.

And I didn't want to admit it, but the feeling in my stomach that had started building did not go away; it seemed instead that the lustful want was hell bent on staying with me. Logical me and Rebellious me were both in a towering temper: Logical me for allowing this to happen, and Rebellious me for Malfoy not finishing what he had started. Before I'd even had time to sort out the differences I was feeling, the bell rang. Malfoy jumped up as though he was quite eager to be rid of me. I heard Pansy murmuring to him on the way out about how it wasn't his fault he wanted to be a good student and Snape had stuck him next to that awful Mudblood. Draco did not stop her from saying those awful things…but for the first time in memory, he did not join in her racial slurs. I was shocked beyond belief.

Damn that man and what he was doing to me.

**Tada! So what did you think? It was the longest chapter that I've written for this story yet, and I hope that you'll all take the time to push that little review button down there. It'd be quite nice of you. Really, it would. **

**Happy Reading!**

**Meghan**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you all so much for the onslaught of reviews I received last time! We're now at a hundred reviews! Yay! It really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to read ya'lls comments. So please, keep them coming! =D**

**Meghan**

Throughout the day, the feeling in my stomach stayed with me. It was like a waterfall waiting to burst, but there was something holding it back. I'd never felt this kind of frustration before, and needless to say, it put me in a very bad mood.

The other students knew to avoid me, Know-It-All Granger, when I'm in a bad mood. Only Harry was eventually brave enough to ask me what the problem was during our lunch hour. I had huffed a hurried reply about the amount of work the teachers were giving me. Ron and Harry both looked at me sympathetically, and I realized that I could not have come up with a better lie, because both of them despised homework, and were likely to leave the subject alone.

After lunch, we began walking down the corridors to Slughorn's classroom, with Harry on one side and Ron on the other. The walkway was very packed, and so we were all jostled quite a bit. I wanted to scream at the other people who were in my way, but tried to refrain. After all, it wasn't their fault that they had to get to class after the lunch rush.

Somehow, once we'd made our way passed the throng of people, Ron's hand was intertwined with mine. I could feel heat rising to my face. I couldn't let this go on for much longer, or soon he would start to progress to other things. However, I could see the smile on his face that was a mile wide, even out of my peripheral vision. I internally sighed, but didn't withdraw my hand from his grasp. I wished that I'd had the courage to tell him that I only loved him as a friend…but I couldn't make myself do it. I tried to convince myself that I was just waiting for a better moment, because the hallway, with Harry walking by our side was not an appropriate place or time. Logical me was begging for me to listen to her, and just let the slow procedure with Ron continue.

It seemed to take a very long time to get to Slughorn's classroom.

I was incredibly pissed to find that we had class with the Slytherins again(although I was slightly happier to notice it was only a few of them, and there were also Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws present.) How many bloody times was I going to have to see that git today? Hadn't fate already thrown enough boulders in my path for the week? Apparently not.

Dra—Malfoy was not in the classroom when the three of us arrive. I began to hope that perhaps, for some reason, he had chosen not to take the NEWT level potions class. I sighed as we picked out seats on the left side of the Potion masters room. When we sat down, Ron still did not let go of my hand, but instead, placed it on the desk. I wondered if he were merely doing it for Harry's benefit; the latter's eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw Ron holding my hand. I quickly tried to strike up a conversation.

"So, I thought you two weren't going to take potions? What changed your mind, Harry?" I said his name in hopes that it would break whatever trance that held his gaze to mine and Ron's hands. He looked at me for a moment before answering.

"Well, Snape doesn't take anyone into his class that isn't…umm…didn't get an 'Outstanding'. I only got an E. But McGonagall told me that Slughorn would."

"Are you still hoping to become an Auror then?" He nodded. And that was the end of our conversation, because at that moment Professor Slughorn came over to talk to Harry.

"Harry m'boy! So good to see you!" And that kept them occupied for a moment. I set a book on top of the desk. I hadn't noticed Slughorn's eyes had slid over to me.

"Oho! 'A friend of mine is Muggleborn and she's the best in our year!' Is this the friend you were talking about, Harry?" Slughorn was positively beaming at me. I blushed back and smiled at him in return.

"Er—yeah, I mean, yes sir." Harry replied.

"Oh, Harry, thank you!" I didn't think either of the boys had ever cared much about my smarts unless it was to copy off me, but for Harry to actually tell someone else that I was the best in our year…and to a Professor no less, was incredibly sweet of him.

"I think you're bloody brilliant too." Ron grumbled. I smiled a little. If only he knew it wasn't Harry that he needed to be jealous of. It took me a minute to realize what I'd just thought. Logical me was internally snubbing me at the moment, while I felt that if Rebellious me could, she'd be patting me on the back.

Draco chose that moment to walk into the room and take a seat a little ways below us and to the right. He sat there with Blaise Zambini and Theodore Nott. He apparently didn't see me at first. I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or mad. He was talking in hushed tones to Zambini and Nott. I hadn't realized I was staring at them until Nott looked over Draco's shoulder at me and caught my eye. He nodded at Malfoy, who turned around to look at me. He smirked at me for a second, and then his gaze traveled down to Ron's hand, which was still holding mine on the desk.

In that moment, he looked absolutely livid. His pale face got very red, and his eyes narrowed until they were almost slits. I couldn't help it, I blushed. I wondered when blushing so often had become normal for me. I looked away from his penetrating gaze. I felt slightly guilty. And then I was angry again.

Why should I feel guilty? Just because Malfoy thought he had some moronic claim on me because we'd had…er…a few intimate situations, he did not own me. He had no right to be making me feel guilty as though I'd done him some great harm. Just look at him and Pansy. I wasn't jealous of them. Well, maybe a little. Rebellious me prodded me to take some kind of action that would just make Draco more mad, and to pay him back for what he'd done in potions.

I tugged on Ron's sleeve, and pulled him close to whisper in his ear.

"I'm glad you held my hand." I told him. I could feel heat flood his face as he blushed from my comment, and I giggled loudly. It was very unlike me, but I wanted to hopefully siphon off some of my anger on Malfoy. I gave Ron a quick peck on the cheek and pulled away. I looked down to where the Slytherins were sitting. Malfoy looked as though he could spit fire, if it were possible.

I gave him a little wink. Even Rebellious me was stunned that I'd done such a thing without taking any direction from her.

It incensed him enough that he turned around and started talking to Nott and Zambini again. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but due to the humorous looks on their faces, it was probably not-so-nice things about me. I turned my head away from them, determined to not let them bother me anymore.

Slughorn's room was filled with simmering potions. I didn't know if anyone else could tell what they were, but I certainly could. When Slughorn started asking questions, I was able to name each of the potions in turn; Felix Felicis, Amortentia, and Polyyjuice Potion. He positively beamed at me. He then gave us instructions to make the Draught of Living Death, and told us that whomever had the best potion would win a small bottle of Felix Felicis. (Liquid luck, just in case you didn't know.)

It was a very difficult and trying potion. As hard as I worked, I was not achieving the results that Harry had in his cauldron. It really pissed me off that he was following the same directions that I was, and he was doing better than me. I could practically feel my hair frizzing back to its normal self…and then I sighed as I wished that would happen.

Draco did not look at me again for the entire class period, and that irritated me too.

By the time potions ended, I was ready to give up and go to bed. Thank god it was the last class of the day. I just didn't think I could take anymore.

I stomped out of the room, not bothering to wait for Harry and Ron. I wandered around until I reached the seventh floor corridor.

_I need a quiet place to relax and get away from everyone. _ I thought, as I passed a certain stretch of wall three times. I sighed in relief when the door to the Room of Requirement stood solidly before me. I entered and shut the door behind me quickly.

My first thought when I saw the room was that I could stay here forever. The room sure had outdone itself this time. There was a merrily crackling fire, a comfortable living room set, and shelves ad shelves full of wonderful books. I sighed. It was like I'd died and gone to bookworm heaven. And there was no way Malfoy would think to bother me hear. Just to make sure though, I added as an afterthought, _and a place that Draco can't get into. _ I heard a deadbolt lock pop into existence, and watched as it latched itself securely into place on the door. Good, I'd actually be able to relax, knowing that the prat couldn't get in her to bother me.

I don't know how long I stayed by the fire, which never seemed to die down. It was long enough to finish _Important Jinxes for the Avid Spellcaster_, and begin another book entitled _The Charmed Life: A Collection of Stories of Wizard and Witches Who Charmed Their Way to Great Heights. _It really wasn't bad…although editors in the Wizarding world sure could use a lesson on shortening book titles.

After I'd read several chapters into it, I heard knocking on the door.

"Hermione, open up!" Harry's voice shouted. I stretched for a moment as I set down the book. I thought about just pretending I wasn't in here. It was like my thought had floated to Harry through the solid door.

"I can see you on the damn map, Hermione! I know you're in there!" Damn it. I should have thought of making the room Unplottable like it usually was when no one was using it. But I had forgotten to take into consideration Harry and that stupid map of his.

I sighed as I left my haven on the couch.

"What?" I asked irritably as I flung open the door. He was standing there looking frustrated, and holding a small plate of food.

"You didn't come down for dinner, and I thought you might be hungry." He said, handing me the plate. "Can I come in?" I looked at the room longingly. I wasn't sure how long Harry was going to be there, and I really wanted to get back to reading. But he had brought me dinner.

"Sure." I stepped out of the way to allow him access into the room. He chuckled as he saw the current use to which the room was being put.

"I should have figured as much." He said, shaking his head. "Of course you wouldn't have thought of something like a bar, or club, or something fun to do." He dropped down on the couch that I had so recently vacated, and picked up my book. "Nope. You conjure up your own personal library." I set the plate down and snatched the book out of his hand.

". Hilarious. I can hardly breathe for laughing." I said menacingly to him. "Now, if you're done insulting my choice of what to do with the room, would you like to tell me why you're here?"

" I just wanted to talk to you for a second." He said. "And I know you hate being interrupted, so I'll get down to the point. What's going on between you and Ron?"

"Honestly?" I asked him. I decided it was better to be truthful. "I really don't know. Things just started happening." He nodded.

"So, you guys aren't like…together or anything?" I looked at him for a moment. It seemed a very unlike Harry question.

"Did Ron put you up to this?" I asked him. He didn't answer me but looked down at the floor. I tried to do something to stall for time. Rebellious me reminded me of a fact to which I could use to my advantage.

"You tell Ron that if he wants an answer, to come ask me himself." There. Ron wouldn't be able to pluck up the courage to do that for weeks…if he ever actually brought himself to do it in the first place. "Now, out." I drug him up off the couch and pushed him towards the door way.

"Why can't you just tell m—" he started to say.

"It's a girl thing." I said, inventing wildly. "Now get out." He did indeed leave, and I locked the door once again. I sat back down to read.

When I next looked up, it was 930. I jumped, because if I was out much later then I'd be risking getting caught after curfew. I thought about the possibility of staying here(and as I did so, a magnificent and comfortable looking bed sprang up in the corner), but I decided I really ought to be getting back to my own room.

I basically had to pry myself away from the amazing room full of books. However, once I was done, the realization hit me harder that I was going to be caught out of bed. I rounded the corridors and was about to reach a staircase when I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me.

"Just where are you off to in such a hurry, Mudblood?" the silky voice asked. I turned around to find Zambini stalking towards me, with Crabbe, Goyle and Nott slinking behind in his wake. Shit. Out of bed, at night, when no one else was around, and I get corned by not one but _four _Slytherin males. Oh this was definetly not good.

I tried to rush up the stairs, but Zambini grabbed my arm and with the help of Crabbe dragged me off into a small, dark side corridor. Crabbe held his big hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming. Nott muttered some kind of spell and a cloth was suddenly gagging me in my mouth. Crabbe removed his hand. I prayed to whatever God would hear me that someone would stop this.

My first thought was Harry and his map. Surely he would see that I was surrounded by four Slytherins and come to my rescue? But reality sunk in. Harry would not be looking at his map right now, assuming that I was still safe in the Room of Requirement. He was probably sitting next to the fire having an animated conversation with Ron.

My next thought was, where are the teachers? Surely they patrolled the corridors? Yet, no one was in sight. I had no hope of rescue from whatever was about to happen.

The four Slytherins started to converge on me.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry about another cliff hanger. =) **

**Please review!**

**Meghan**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sooo…apparently there are many readers who don't like cliffhangers. Who knew? *evil grin* Sorry about that guys. And also sorry about the wait...I normally have at least two chapters a day. As I told Dragonmaster65, I'm staying with my parents, and they seem to think that I'm never seen without my computer. Pffft. Just because I eat in front of it, sleep near it, and sit at it for a good part of the day…I believe my mother said, and I quote, "How do you manage to get anything done?" I told her that was a good question and she did not seem to think it was an adequate response. I think she wishes that I was still under 18 so she could ground me from it…but instead she played a much more valuable card. The Famous Guilt Trip. I'm being reduced to writing at night when my parents are asleep so I don't get a lecture. So you all darn well better be happy that I'm giving up precious sleep currently to continue this story!**

**Please review, and happy reading!**

**Meghan**

There was no way I could take down all four of them. I was willing to bet that I was better with my wand than any of them were and quicker too. If it had been just one, or maybe even two of them, I could have made my escape to freedom easily. But I was not going to lie down and take it without a fight.

I whipped my wand out from my robes and pointed it at Zambini's heart. Thank god I'd been practicing spells silently. My chances would have stood even worse than they did now. They all laughed and just moved closer.

"Like you could take us all on, you filthy little Mudblood." Nott spat. I raised my wand to hex him (I didn't want to waste time trying to magic the unyielding gag out of my mouth), but Goyle had come up behind me and had my arms in his unrelenting grip. He pinned them behind my back, and when I whimpered in pain, he laughed evilly. Zambini jerked my wand out of my hand. My only weapon had been taken away, and my arms were useless. I glared at him, Nott and Crabbe with pure malice.

Zambini moved forward and tugged painfully on my hair, smirking. It was not Draco's self satisfied, arrogant smirk. Zambini's smile was pure evil. He yanked on my hair again harder. I kicked him in the shins.

"OUCH!" he yelled. "Bitch!" he spat in my face and slapped me, hard. I'd never been hit that way. My head snapped back with the force of the blow, and I felt terribly degraded. I was sure it was nothing compared to what was coming, however. But I refused to give them the dignity of knowing how broken I felt inside. As Zambini raised his hand to slap me again, I looked him straight in the eye and wished every horrible thing I could think of upon him. Before his fist could make contact with my face, however, a voice came out of the brightly lit main corridor.

"What the bloody hell are you assholes doing to her?" I turned to see who my savior was. I was shocked to see a pale pointed face and slicked back white-blonde hair. I was never happier to see Malfoy in my entire life.

"Get. Off. Of. Her." He said, commanding them with the arrogance of a Malfoy. His voice was filled with a barely concealed fury. My arms were immediately released and the feeling of blood that flowed back into them was almost painful. Zambini stepped away from me and turned to face his housemate.

I removed my gag from my mouth, and once I was quite sure their attention wasn't focused on me, picked my wand up from where it had fallen on the ground.

"Hermione, come here." He said. His voice was deadly calm. If I hadn't been so terrified of what had been about to happen to me before he'd arrived, I might have noticed that he called me Hermione instead of Granger. But, as it was, I was having difficulty staying upright. I hurried to his side, shaking slightly. He looked down at me for a moment, and then touched a spot on my face. I winced. There was going to be a mark where Zambini had hit me. He turned once more to the other Slytherins.

"If you ever touch her again, I'll kill you." He said coolly to his former best friends. "Get out of my sight." Crabbe and Goyle did not need telling twice. Zambini and Nott, however, did not disappear so quickly.

"You wait 'til I tell your father that you've fallen for a filthy little Mudblood," Nott spat at him. "You've lost it, Malfoy."

"Perhaps I'll cut your tongue out Theo, to save you the trouble." Draco replied. Nott sent him a final glare and then turned and strode away. Zambini, however, kept looking at him oddly.

"She's not worth it, Draco. Honestly, what's gotten into you? We were just having a bit of fun." He said sulkily.

"She didn't seem like she was having very much fun to me." Draco replied coldly. Zambini looked at him. I couldn't read the emotion on his face. I couldn't look at Draco at all. I didn't know what to think of the whole situation. Then, after several long, tense moments, Zambini walked away without another word. I was in shock.

"Come on." Draco whispered into my ear. "I know a place where you'll be safe." I barely realized where he was leading me until we got to the seventh floor corridor. Suddenly, I knew where we were going. How ironic that I had just come there. If I'd just stayed, then I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. I could feel my eyes watering up, and I started to hyperventilate. Draco left me standing there, and I watched him pace back and forth in front of the same stretch of wall three times. There was a soft pop, and the door to the room came into existence.

Draco gently led me inside the room. It looked like a quaint little house inside, with a small kitchen, and living room set, and then a door that I assumed led off to a bedroom. I followed him to the couch, and sat down. For a moment, all I could do was stare at the wall in front of me. Then, without warning, I burst into sobs. They were great, wracking sobs that shook my whole body. Soon I became aware of the fact that Draco was rubbing my back soothingly. He was not trying to make any kind of move on me, but was genuinely being nice, and the idea of this was so absurd that I cried harder. Draco said nothing, but kept comforting me all the same. I don't know how he did it. It felt like hours later that I finally stopped bawling my eyes out. I sat up and looked at him.

"Th—thank you." I said, with a slight hiccup. "You didn't have to do that." He shrugged, and took his hand away from my back. The absence of it seemed odd, like it should still be there. "Why did you…" I started to ask. I mean, they were supposed to be his best mates after all, and I was just a lowly Mudblood.

"Because it wasn't right, what they were doing." He said abruptly. "Friends or not, they were doing something that I didn't think they should be doing. I stopped it. End of story." He would not look at me. I just nodded. I wanted to ask something else, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Finally, my curiosity got the better of me.

"You were very good…with dealing with me while I was so upset a while ago." I said quietly. I figured the best way to start off was by giving him a compliment. "How did you know what to…I mean you don't seem like the type of guy…" I let my sentence trail off, not able to finish it. He sighed.

"How do I know how to take care of a woman that's distressed?" he asked. I nodded. "I've had a lot of practice." He muttered. "My father isn't always the kindest husband to my mother, and there have been times when she needed someone to steady her." I was shocked. He'd never shared any kind of personal information with me. I'd never guessed that it would be something like that either. To be truthful, I'd never thought much of his mother. The few times I'd seen her with Mr. Malfoy and Draco, she'd seemed like she just kind of floated in the background. She hadn't commanded my attention like the other two had.

"I'm sorry." I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be. What's done is done." He said. "Now, do you want to tell me how you were stupid enough to run into four Slytherin men, alone, at night?" he asked, suddenly seeming angry again.

"It wasn't like I planned it!" I yelled angrily. He winced slightly, I guess due to the decibel of my voice. "I'd just left here actually, although it was different then." He snorted.

"I bet it was. I bet you had the whole place full of books, stacked right to the ceiling." I didn't comment on what he had said, but continued with my story.

"I was just trying to get back to my dorm before curfew when they—when it happened." I couldn't bring myself to try to describe the situation. He growled slightly and grinded his teeth together.

"Why wasn't your stupid, bloody boyfriend and your ringleader with you?" he asked irritably. "I thought you three were like the Three Freaking Inseparable Amigos." I had to laugh.

"Harry actually came to visit me to talk about…" I paused for a moment. I wasn't going to tell Malfoy that Ron wasn't my boyfriend. I enjoyed the thought of him being jealous, for some reason. "To talk about homework and I told him I couldn't help him with his and to leave me alone." Draco did not look completely satisfied with this answer.

"And so therefore, you decided it would be nice to take a pleasant little stroll around a deserted castle after curfew?"

"I wasn't strolling." I snapped. "I was headed to Gryffindor tower. There's nothing wrong with what I was doing." I was furious that he had somehow managed to think this was my fault. As if I was some stupid, little naïve child. He shook his head.

"Bloody hell, woman, you need to start thinking!" he yelled back. "I've been able to get you on your own _twice _now, and now you've had a scuffle with my mates as well." He ran a hand through his sleek blonde hair. I had a sudden urge to do the same thing, and it made me blush again. "You can't keep wandering around on your own." I was barely listening to what he was saying.

"Mmmm?" I said, still daydreaming. He grabbed me, lightly, by the shoulders and shook me.

"Listen to me, Hermione; you can't go out by yourself! Teachers or not, there's always things that can get by undetected!" I gaped at him. He looked down at himself and then back at me. "What?" He said. "Have I gotten something on me?" I moved closer to him on the couch. Our knees were touching.

"You called me Hermione…" I said slowly.

"So what if I did?" he said defensively. "That isn't the point, and furthermore—"

I closed my lips over his and he went suddenly still. He didn't respond to my lips and after a moment I pulled back, embarrassed. I looked into his face. It was stony, but not quite angry. I couldn't read any more into it than that.

"What are you doing?" he said in a strained voice.

"Kissing you." I mumbled.

"Why?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know." I answered him truthfully. Was it because I truly liked him? I wasn't sure. Was it because of how he'd made me feel earlier in Defense class? Probably. Was it because he had just risked his friendships to save me? I was sure that had something to do with it as well. Also, I was in slight shock from him using my first name. I wasn't sure what he was going to say.

"I…I don't want to take advantage of you." He said quietly.

"The hell you don't!" I said, laughing. He looked startled. "You've already made a move on me without my permission three different times!" I wasn't angry at all. I just thought he was a bit of a hypocrite for saying that.

"That different." He smirked. "You were normal, and fighting against me…even though you really wanted me to." He winked, and I slapped him. He didn't say" ow", or anything. I considered hitting him again, but I felt it might be a tad childish. "But, right now…you aren't you. You're vulnerable, and you're just turning to me because I'm the one who saved you." I couldn't help but realize he spoke the truth. But I had been letting Rebellious me out a lot lately, and at this moment, she really didn't care.

"I don't care what's causing it." I told him. I was stunned to hear my voice sound so sure. "Right now I want you Draco Malfoy. To hell with your suddenly chivalry." He looked dazed. Before he could say anything, I launched myself at him again, more forcefully this time. I don't know if it had been my little speech, or if I'd just caught him unprepared, but his lips moved against mine just as hard.

I moaned and tried to pull him closer to me, and although now I had crushed myself against him, it wasn't enough. My feelings from earlier in the day came rushing back with a vengeance. I pushed him backwards on the large couch we were sitting on, and lay down on top of him. He groaned, but I could tell it was in pleasure. I had never done something like this before.

Soon however, simply kissing him and lying in the position we were in was not enough anymore. My inexperienced hands left his face to explore his wonderful body. And Merlin, was it. He was amazing. My hands shook as they traveled over his arms, his chest and his stomach. Every once in a while he would moan again.

"Woman, you better stop while you're ahead." He whispered the warning against my mouth. I leaned my mouth over to be nearer his ear and sucked on it.

"Oh, I'm just getting started." I said. My voice sounded husky and low. He pulled me closer to him. My instincts took over, and my hands began fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He released me ever so slightly so that it would be easier for me. It took me a moment, but I finally got the buttons of his shirt undone and I slipped it and his robe off of his shoulders. I gasped as I took him in. Before I could say anything however, he expertly maneuvered me over onto my back, to where he was sitting on top.

"My turn." He said, smiling triumphantly. Then he frowned.

"Hmmm. A couch does seem a bit small." He looked over into the corner and it looked as though he were thinking very hard for a moment. In another second, an enormous bed, even the bigger than the one that the room had conjured earlier for me, appeared.

"Ahhh." He sighed. "Much better." In another moment, he had scooped me up in his arms and carried me over to the bed. I had to admit, it was very romantic. Especially for Malfoy. Once I was on the bed though, I felt more nervous all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the fact that his arms were no longer around me. Or maybe just sitting in a bed that I intended to share with a man was what scared me. But in another second, his lips were on mine again, and I no longer cared.

His hands did not shake when they unbuttoned my shirt as mine had when I'd done his. No, he was confident, and cocky, and knew what he was doing, and for the first time since I'd known him, I found it incredibly appealing. There was just something so hot about the fact that he knew what he was doing. I felt cold air hit my stomach when he was finished. His usually cold hands were unnaturally warm, and sent to into my skin when placed himself along my lower abdomen.

"Mmmm." He practically purred into my ear. "You feel amazing…" He stroked circles on my stomach and I felt the need that had started earlier begin to build again.

His hand moved slightly upwards, to the top of my rib cage. Normally it might have tickled, but at the moment I could not see anything funny about it. His fingers left a trail of goosebumps on my skin, but I was not cold. On the contrary, everywhere we were touching felt like those places of my skin were on fire. His hands paused.

"May I?" he whispered. God…did he have to even ask?

"Yes, yes." I panted at him. He needed no more invitation than that. I could feel his soft hands fumbling with the clip at the front of my bra. It came undone. However, before he completely removed it, I felt him handling the black lace on the outside of the bra. He looked down at it.

"You know, you never cease to amaze me. I wouldn't have thought you for a lace woman." He said, smiling slightly.

"Well, you learn new things every day." He chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose you do." And without another word, he tore the bra the rest of the way off. He stopped moving and looked at me. For a second, I thought something had happened. I looked up at him, but he was just staring at me.

"Hmmm." He murmured.

"What? What is it?" I asked breathlessly. I suddenly felt very shy. I'd never done this much with anyone before…Draco was the first to have looked at my body. What if he didn't find me attractive anymore, once the clothes had been removed? I hastily grabbed for my bra, intending to rectify my mistake. My cheeks felt like they were on fire because I was blushing so hard. But his arm reached out to stop me.

"Has anyone ever told you how absolutely, heartbreakingly beautiful you are?" His voice seemed like it cracked.

"Well…no." I told him shyly. I wouldn't look at him. "You're the first person to have…I mean, I haven't before…" He put a hand over my mouth.

"I'm sure I'll regret this later, once I've had time to think it over." He said. "But I can't do this to you."

"Why not?" I thought things had been going rather well, if rather unexpected. He shook his head.

"I don't want your first time to be…like this." He said slowly. "Not that I wouldn't be the proudest son of a bitch ever to have been with you your first time." He smirked. "But not like this. You're beautiful, and you should be respected."

Then his face soured. "Plus, I don't think Weasly would like it too much if I bedded his girlfriend." He moved away from me.

"Like you care what he thinks." I said to him smiling. "Oh, and by the way…I forgot to mention. I'm not dating him." He looked sharply at me.

"So what was the hold handholding thing about in Potions?" I sighed.

"I don't know what to do about him, so I'm just praying that it all goes away." I said truthfully. "Although I did kiss him on the cheek to piss you off."

"Hermione, he's like you for years. He's just too big of a prat to admit it. He isn't going to give up on you." He told me glumly.

"Why are we talking about him?" I said, trying to make my voice as low and seductive as possible. I wanted to get back to the snogging…and the direction everything had been headed before we'd stopped a moment ago."You have me here, now, alone in this amazingly comfortable bed," I rubbed the comforter with my hand to emphasize the statement, "only half dressed, and more than willing. Let's talk later." He groaned again and as he was still sitting lightly against my lower body, I felt his manhood jump to attention at my statement.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He asked. "I try and try to get you to shag me, and you don't want to, but the one time I'm saying know, you're practically begging for it."

"I'm glad you got the general idea." I said, pulling him down to kiss me, and pick up where we left off. He wouldn't bend down however.

"I can't." He said, shaking his head again.

"Oh really?" I asked. I ran my hand to his inner thigh and drew patterns on his leg, coming closer to the juncture of his legs with every circle I made. "Because your body says otherwise." He sat very still for a moment, with his eyes closed.

He took my hand and pulled it away. I was sorely disappointed. He opened his eyes and glared at me slightly.

"I'm trying to do the right thing here, Hermione. And you're currently making that feat very difficult."

"Fine." I huffed. I flopped down on the bed and turned away from him. I knew it would work, but I wondered how long it would take him to cave.

"Oh come on. You can't seriously be upset." I did not turn over when I answered him.

"I'm no longer speaking to you Draco Malfoy. This is the second time today you've started something and haven't finished." I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I _promise _that if you still want to sometime in the near future we will. But can't you understand I'm trying to keep you from doing something you'll regret?" Logical me was silently thanking him for being such a gentleman. Rebellious me was giving him a very loud cussing out in my head. I did not turn over to face him.

"Really? You aren't four." He said. I bit back the retort that almost came out of my mouth. Whether I was acting four or not, my plan was working. I felt him scoot closer to me.

"You might as well give up now." He taunted. "I'm not giving in." In response I buried my face deeper into the pillow. Then, suddenly, he flipped me over. I crossed my arms in front of my face childishly so I would not have to see him.

"Are you really going to make me resort to this?" He asked wearily. "I feel like I'm babysitting instead of having fun with a woman." I still did not reply. He pried my hands away from my face.

I closed my eyes. He sighed in frustration. "Please look at me?" he asked. I shook my head no. He bent closer and whispered into my ear. "Pretty please?"

I almost gave in to that incredibly sexy voice of his. Rebellious me reminded me to stay strong to get what I wanted. When I did not answer, he nibbled on my ear and I shivered. Ahhh. Finally, we were getting somewhere. I wrapped my arms around him and began kissing him again. I drew my hands down his smooth back and wrapped my legs around his. Then he almost ruined it for me.

"We still aren't having sex."

"You're killing my mood." I told him irritably.

"Aha! She speaks!" He said.

"Oh, shut up." I told him. "Who's acting like the child now?" I made to turn back over, but he stopped me.

"I said we couldn't have sex. That still leaves a whole lot open, you know." He said conspiratorially. I thought this over. Logical me did not bother to even give me advice this time. Rebellious me decided that she would settle for it this time, but he better damn well follow through on his promise. I sighed.

"I suppose." He chuckled at my statement.

"Well, I don't want you to feel like I'm twisting your arm about it. I'll just sit over there if you'd rather not—"

I grabbed his arm, because he had moved away, and acted like he was going to get out of the bed.

"Get your arse back here, Malfoy." I growled.

"That's what I thought." He said smirking. I hated that he'd won this argument, but once it started kissing me again, it didn't feel so much like I'd lost anymore. The bed was comfortable and big, and easily to maneuver around it. Perfect for snogging. I loved the feel of our bare chests crushed up against one another. Skin on skin…it felt so amazing that I couldn't imagine how it would be to actually make love to him.

He massaged both of my breasts, gently at first, then harder. He nuzzled his face into my neck and began sucking on the sensitive spot just below my ear. I felt my eyes roll back in my head with the pleasure of it all. I moaned into his shoulder. I never wanted to stop this. I could have lived my life, right here in his arms. If only he'd consented to grant me my wish tonight…

His hands found the hem of my skirt. He drew it up, tantalizingly. I wanted to scream at him to go faster, but I knew he was doing it for my enjoyment, not necessarily torture. So I kept my mouth shut.

"You know." He said, pulling and playing with the fabric. "A woman's skirt is a wonderful thing. It's much more practical. For instance, it comes off a lot easier than a pair of trousers." And with that, he slid them off my hips with no effort on my part. I was now lying in front of him, mostly exposed. I wondered how on earth he was refraining himself. Rebellious me gave me a suggestion that might get him to change his mind.

I didn't know if he was just simply going to work around the underwear or what. But I decided to follow Rebellious me's suggestion and ensure that the underwear would be a problem. I looked him directly in the eyes. Then, I moved my hands downwards. The movement was not lost on him.

"What are you—" He stopped as he saw me tug ever so lightly on the lacy black fabric. He eyes almost popped out of his head. I smirked at his reaction. So he thought he was the only one who could tease, did he? "Don't." He warned. I smiled innocently at him.

"Don't what Draco?" I purred. I slipped one of my long legs out of the underwear. His chest started breathing as he panted. I could tell he wanted to look away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. I finished my little strip tease for him by slowly shimmying out of the other hole in the underwear. I don't know where the bloody hell I'd gotten this inspiration from, but it seemed to work well, so I wasn't complaining. I pulled him closer to me again.

"You were saying?" I whispered in his ear. He seemed incapable of speaking at the moment. Well, that was perfectly fine. It sure made things a hell of a lot easier for me. He brought his hand down to the now exposed lower half of my body.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked in a low voice. I didn't even answer him. Instead, I did basically the same thing I'd done in Defense class that morning. I guided his hand down to my opening. And the same sparks that happened this morning popped all over again. Except this time, possibly because I was undressed and he was halfway there, it was even better.

"It might…hurt you a little." I didn't know what to say. He waited hesitantly for a moment. "But I'll try to make it as good as I can for you." That comforted me a little. He slid one finger inside of me, just a fraction of an inch. I felt my inner walls clench around him. It was not painful in the slightest. He looked at me to gage my reaction.

"More." I told him breathlessly. He pushed the finger deeper inside of me, passing an inner boundary inside of me, but not quite breaking it. It was the best thing I'd ever felt. Bells and whistles rang in my mind. He withdrew his finger from me quickly and I clutched his arm. He looked at me in alarm.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked with concern.

"Do. It. Again." My words came out with each sounding like a separate sentence. He plunged back into me, with two of his fingers this time. He went just as deep, but did not entirely pull them out al the way again. My head was spinning. I gripped my legs around him tighter and my nails sunk into his back.

"Draco." I murmured his name. He picked up speed, sliding one hand faster and faster in and out of me while the other cupped my backside and held me close to him. He said there would be pain…where was it? I could feel nothing but bone-melting, body shaking, mind blowing pleasure. I began to move in time with his hand, rocking back and forth, trying to get his fingers as deep as they would go inside of me. It felt like every neuron in my body was firing out pleasure. It was almost too much. I screamed as I felt myself finally release.

Very, very slowly, he withdrew his fingers from inside me. I shivered as he did so. My whole body was shaking from what had just happened.

"Are you Allright?" he asked. I wasn't sure if he'd meant to be funny or not. I opened one of my eyes and glared at him for ruining the after affect of my orgasm with his stupid words.

"Yes." I told him. "Why the hell wouldn't I be after that?" My breath was coming in bursts.

"You're bleeding." He said, and showed me the two fingers that were coated not only were coated with my essence, but with a dark, sticky red substance. I tried to remember feeling any type of pain, and type of resistance against him from my body. I could remember nothing.

"I'm fine. Really." I assured him. I noticed that his pants were tightly strained against his crotch. I knew what it was like to go without having your needs met. I'd gotten a crash course today. Rebellious me said he deserved it after what he'd done to me under the desk, but I wouldn't be that cruel.

"What about you?" I asked him. I was hoping that he'd finally given up his charade of chivalry and perhaps his need was too great for him to reign in anymore, and I'd get to experience actually having him inside of me…and I did not mean his hands.

"Don't worry about taking care of me," he said quickly. " I don't expect you to do that or anything." I didn't answer him.

I was still laying underneath him. I trailed my nails down his stomach and he hissed.

"Damn it woman, you're asking for trouble." I laughed.

"Ohhhhhh. In trouble am I?" murmured. I tried to scoot lower, but we were still crushed together. He realized what I wished and propped himself up on his hands so I could move beneath him more freely.

"Hmmm…" I said out loud. I wonder what you would think of this." I sucked lightly on a spot near his chest. He tried to mute the humming sound that came from his throat by keeping his mouth closed but I heard it anyway. "Well, I wonder what you'd think of this one then. I bent my head and sucked on the skin right above the waistband of his jeans. For good measure, I used my tongue as well. God he was strong. The only reason his limbs were shaking currently was because of what I was doing to him.

He braced himself on one arm and pulled me back up to him at the head of the bed.

"I wasn't finished." I pouted at him.

"Relax. I have no intention of stopping you indefinitely." He said. I heard the want in his voice. "But I figured if I lay down, it might be easier for you. Plus there's that upside of getting to see you and everything." He smirked. "And I wouldn't want to deprive myself of that glorious sight." So he did lay down, and I crawled on top of him, intending to begin again.

However, I had a new beginning strategy this time. My hands worked their way alone down his body while my lips stayed firmly glued to his neck. I nipped, sucked and kissed everywhere but actually on his lips. He tried to kiss me on the lips but I just pulled away and went to work on another part of his upper body. I could tell it was driving him crazy, but in a good way.

My hands finally undid the buckle on his belt, and the button came undone easily. The zipper made a slight hissing noise as I lowered it. My hand dipped below the waist band of his belt. For the first time, he muttered my name.

"Hermione…" he said. I smiled, glad that I was able to do this for him. But for the first time, I wished that I had done something like this before, so that I would be good at it. What if I did something that didn't feel right to him? Or worse yet, what if I hurt him? He sensed my hesitation.

"It's fine…you're fine…" he coaxed. His voice came out of his throat in a slight croak. I wanted to do this right for him. I took a deep breath and finally moved my hand further down into his trousers. I felt him twitch whenever I first touched him. I drew my finger down the length of his shaft slowly. Merlin, I'd had no idea that he would be so _big. _Like everything else about him, his manhood seemed to just radiate power. God how I wanted him inside of me.

He helped me pull of his trousers. I laughed internally at the comment he'd made earlier. Indeed, skirts were much easier to get off than pants. But working together, we eventually got them off of him. I was stunned to see he wore no underwear beneath his pants. My need became much stronger again, actually seeing him fully unclothed. I stroked him softly. He moaned again.

"I…I don't know what to do." I admitted quietly. He had closed his eyes when I touched him again, and he did not open them now.

"I'll show you." And similar to the way I had done, his hands guided mine down to in between his legs. He placed both of my hands on him, and began to move them slowly in an up and down motion. I got the gist of it, and his hands left mine, coming to rest on my shoulders instead.

In moments though, they were no longer resting, but squeezing. A sheen of sweat broke out over his body as my hand began to move faster up and down on him. Before long, he too reached his climax. I felt ashamed because he did not scream like I did. He did, however pull me down for a long, hard kiss.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he asked me. He was breathing heavily.

"We can go again if you'd like." I offered. I had no qualms about that. But his hand stopped me.

"Not tonight." He said slowly. "We both have school in the morning." I looked at the clock that suddenly appeared on the wall above us.

"Like we're going to get much sleep anyway." I huffed.

"Some is better than none, love. As I showed you tonight." He smirked as he finished his statement. I sighed.

"Fine." I told him. I rolled over to cuddle next to him. We both still weren't wearing any close, and I felt him harden again. I giggled.

" I don't think that's the best idea." He said gruffly. I was sure he was trying to hide the sound of arousal in his voice.

"Deal with it." I told him, before placing my head on his shoulder.

**Longest thing I've ever written. And the most intimate too. I hope I did an okay job. **

**Please review and let me know what you think. And the next chapter will be from Draco's point of view. =) I'll try to update again as soon as possible, but as I said, I've been reduced to writing at night so my parents don't give me a guilt trip about writing. **

**Happy Reading! **

**Meghan**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter. Under the guise of going to bed early, I've managed to crank out another chapter. Hope you enjoy. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Meghan**

I don't know if Granger got any sleep that night, but I bloody well didn't.

Even setting aside the fact that she was curled up next to me without a shred of clothing on, I could not get the images out of my mind of what had happened over the past several hours. It was the hottest thing I'd ever experienced. I honestly don't know how I managed to control myself around her. It took every ounce of self determination that I had.

I thought I would have regretted not sleeping with her last night. But somehow…I didn't. So sure, most of the stuff was said for her benefit (apparently she was the type of woman who appreciated a bloke for playing the hero), but some of it was really true. The part I'd told her about my mother needing me was true, as was the fact that I truly didn't feel right about shagging her while she was in that vulnerable state.

Well, that, and I did actually feel bad about being the cause of her suffering in the first place. I had banked on her fighting them, on giving them her attitude. And she'd put on a hell of a show for them. As they had for her.

What I did not expect was the tears that came once we were alone. She'd seemed so brave, so cold and unyielding. I never would have guessed that she was a breakable woman behind the ruse. Sitting there seeing her crying had made me think of my mum, and all the times my father had been awful to her. I wished that I had a time turner so I could go and stop myself from ever making plans with my friends to get me into Hermione—shit—Granger's pants.

I'd planned what to say in her in advance, about not wandering the castle alone, but as the words came out of my mouth, I founded that they sounded more truthful than false. Damn it.

And then, when she'd yelled, "I didn't plan this!" I couldn't help but wince. Because I had. I'd taken what I knew of her personality, and used it against her. It was definetly the type of thing that I'd do. So why the bloody hell did I feel so guilty about it?

I wanted to run one of my hands through my hair in frustration, but they were both still encircled around the beautiful woman next to me. I gently untangled her from me, and lay her back softly down on the bed. Her smooth, cream colored back faced me. Just seeing that much of her bare flesh made my want for her well up all over again. I slid out of the bed with as little movement as possible. I didn't want to wake her.

I pulled pieces of my clothing on, bit by bit, as quietly as I could. I debated on whether to just leave or if I should stay and wait for her to wake up. I heard her rustle slightly and looked over at the bed. She was shivering. I walked, silent as a shadow, back over to the bed and pulled the covers up over her.

She made a contented little sighing noise. She was utterly desirable, even in her sleep. I wanted to just sit there and watch her, but I knew that she'd eventually be waking up, and she might not like that too much. I wondered if she would be repulsed this morning about what had come so close to happening last night. Yes, I was right to wait. I wanted her to look back on her experience with me as a good time, not as a regret.

I walked around the Room of Requirement, trying to find something to occupy my time with until she was awake. I began to get very hungry. After all, a man's got to eat. I wished that food would appear. Instead of breakfast appearing in the little kitchenette however, a small door sprang into existence near the stove. I ambled over to it curiously. As I opened it, I got a shock.

Through the small door was, unmistakably, the kitchens of Hogwarts. There were tiny house elves hurrying this way and that, cleaning and cooking. I stepped through the doorway, and pulled the door along with me, but left a small crack. I didn't know if the door would disappear if I closed it fully.

"Good morning young master!" And elf squeaked, catching sight of me. The rest of them turned to face me, and it was quite odd having a bunch of big, oddly shaped eyes looking at you.

"Er—hello." I replied. The house elf beamed at me. I wondered how I was supposed to address them. They weren't my house elves after all. We hadn't gotten another one since that bloody git Potter had set our last one free. I decided the polite approach might work best.

"Would it be possible to get some breakfast?" I asked them. In moments I had a full tray in my hands, loaded down with eggs, bacon, bagels and pumpkin juice. I thanked them warmly and then stepped back through the door which I'd come. I wondered if the house elves had even noticed the door coming in and out of existence in their kitchens, or if they had and had just long ago stopped questioning odd things happening around the castle.

I set the tray down on the counter in the kitchenette area. I heard a slight cough behind me, and turned to smile at the woman gazing up at me from the bed.

"Morning." I called cheerfully as I was able with a sleepless night hanging over my head. She didn't look pissed, which I figured was a good sign. She was sitting up in the bed with the sheets wrapped around her front. She broke into a smile.

"Good morning." She said softly. She was gorgeous, even when she hadn't climbed out of bed yet in the morning. Of course, my opinion may have been partially based on the fact that she wasn't dressed. For a split second, I wondered what it would be like to wake up to that every morning.

MERLIN! What? Surely I hadn't really thought that? She spoke again.

"I wondered where you'd gone." She said. "I thought maybe you'd…that you'd regretted…" She blushed and hid her stunning face behind her long hair. Innocence seemed to radiate out of her. I felt another guilty punch in the gut for what I'd done to her. I tried to remember her instead not as this naïve, innocent girl, but as the woman she'd become last night in bed.

"I'd have to be a blood idiot to regret that, now wouldn't I?" I asked her. And it was true. Any man who could not appreciate the sexual pleasure Herm—Granger gave him wasn't much of a man at all then. She peeked slightly out from beneath her locks.

"Really?" She asked cautiously. And quite unnecessarily in my opinion.

"Was my reaction last night not enough for you?" I asked her. "Or how about the fact that I didn't get a wink of sleep because you were next to me?" She looked apologetic.

"Draco, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—" I cut her off with a wave of my hand. I was working hard on repressing the feeling of butterflies at my stomach that had begun when she'd called me by my name. Not git. Not ferret. Not even Malfoy. But my first name. As if she didn't hate my guts.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." I tried to make it seem like I was feeling nonchalant, but my smirk broke through as usual. "Oh who the hell am I kidding? I'd be lying if I said that night wasn't one of the best ones of my life." I wanted to slap my hand across my mouth. Yes it was true, but you didn't bloody tell a female that! They took it to heart! I could tell she had by the brilliant smile on her had I started breaking all of my own rules when it came to women? And I realized that I wasn't breaking my rules with any of the other women. In fact, I treated Pansy the same as always. It was just Hermione…

Holy shit. I liked her.

My brain whirled with this new information. I, pureblood, Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin…I liked a Mudblood. And not just any Muggleborn, but the Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Freaking-Die's best friend. I hadn't realized it until this moment that I had any feelings for her at all…but now that I recognized them, I realized they were dangerously close to leading down a path that could end with me falling for her. Hard.

"I have to go." I said suddenly. She looked shocked at my sudden change in attitude.

"Oh, all right. She said. She looked so disappointed. I wanted to make her smile, because I hated seeing her look that way. I actually took a step towards her.

NO! I refused to let myself get hooked into this. All I wanted was to bed the woman for crying out loud! When the hell had I developed feelings for her? A few good snogs and everything that had gone on last night was less than I'd done with half a dozen other girls, so it couldn't be just from the physical stuff. And she'd never really been in danger from my mates, so that couldn't have pulled me towards her either.

I racked my brain for a moment, and suddenly what I was remembering wasn't so comforting to me. I'd not only called her Hermione out loud (Which had also begun as a ploy to lure her to me. I figured it would break the ice a little better) but had started thinking of her that way in my head also. I hadn't called her a Mudblood since the incident on the train, unless you counted the little snide comment in my head I'd just made a moment before. And I'd honestly been upset when I saw that the spot Blaise had hit her was going to bruise.

I tried to give her a small smile before walking out the door, but I'm sure it came out looking more like a grimace. I practically bolted from the room. I was pretty sure I'd have enough time to get down to my room and change before classes started today. I broke into a brisk jog going down the corridors and stone steps.

Perhaps it was time to abandon the whole idea of shagging her. I had enough women to keep me occupied, and I could always go for others later. But there were quite a few downsides to this plan: First off, I'd have to explain to the others why I was suddenly so willing to jump ship on the idea, Hermon—Granger would be upset, and she was likely to spill the beans to _someone _and finally…I knew from going at it with Pansy the other night that I wouldn't be satisfied until I'd been with Hermione. Damn it, now I wasn't even bothering to correct myself internally. But anyway, that plan of action was out.

I could try to bed her quicker, get it over with, but my mind reeled away from the idea of my game ending so soon. Plus, I didn't know if she would be so willing again. Yeah, last night she'd sure been eager to go down on me, but it had been a very stressful and trying situation that had just occurred. That I'd put her through. Another sharp shock of guilt to my veins.

So that left me with one other option. I could avoid her as much as possible, and hope that the feelings went away. The bonus of this idea was that the idea of bedding me would have a long nice while to sit and stir in Hermione's brain. I smiled. _I'm a genius. _I thought to myself. It would have been a great plan…until I realized a moment later that I had patrol with her tonight.

Hell! How could I have forgotten? I was just trying to plan a way to use that to my advantage day before yesterday! I grinded my teeth together. Just trying to think of ways to deal with that girl was going to give me an aneurism.

I finally made it to the Slytherin common room. I bolted into my own dormitory and shut the door quickly behind me. I yanked my shirt over my head and was trying to find a clean one in my dresser drawers when I heard a soft cough behind me.

"I waited for you a long time last night." I spun around to face whoever had intruded into my room. It was just Pansy. I barely spared her a glance before I began pulling on a shirt I'd found. Then I started rummaging for another pair of trousers. I found them too and stripped out of the old ones. I didn't really care what Pansy did or didn't see at the moment. But I could feel her eyes on me as I changed.

"Sooo?" She asked, obviously trying to prompt me.

"So what?" I asked irritably. I didn't even have it in me to feel sorry for being sharp with her. I had sexual tension that felt bigger than the Great Hall, I'd gotten no sleep, and I had come to the realization that I might like Hermione Granger. Plus, Pansy's voice was annoying first thing in the morning. All of these things put together did not make me a very happy wizard currently.

"Where where you?" she asked pointedly. "You at least usually come back to bed."

"I was out." I said forcibly. I was now putting my arms through a clean set of school robes.

"With the Mudblood?" She asked softly. I froze. I turned around to face her, anger seeping out of me in waves. She smiled at me.

"You thought I didn't know?" She asked, still grinning. But I could see her fury behind the grin.

" I can't see why you made it your business to know." I told her coldly. She dropped the grin.

"Well you see, when you didn't come back I got worried. So I went to Marcus to find out where you'd gone." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "I would have gone to Theo or Blaise first, but they were conveniently absent." I glared daggers at her with my eyes. I was completely ready now, but my fury was holding me to the spot.

"Marcus told you?" I asked skeptically. We'd all agreed to tell no one other than us six, for fear that if secret got out about what we had planned to do to Hermione, we'd all get into some major trouble.

"Well, he wasn't going to, you see." She said, her voice rising slightly. "But after a little convincing, he told me the whole story." I could tell she was trying to make me jealous. Too damn bad for her that it wasn't going to work.

"I wasn't here so you got Marcus to take care of you instead?" I laughed harshly at her. "God Pansy, will you spread your legs for anyone?" She jumped to her feet.

"Don't you dare!" She spat at me. "At least I'm not the one getting it on with a filthy little Mudblood!"

I took two steps across the room and slapped her across the face. She squealed lightly and took a step back from me. Whatever reaction she was expecting out of me, that hadn't been it. We were both breathing hard and glaring maliciously at the other.

"Get out of my room, and don't bother coming back." I hissed at her.

"You're going to regret this day, Draco." She whispered.

She walked quickly to the door. "When you're done with your little Mudblood plaything, and come begging me to take you back, I won't." She threatened. I said nothing, but just stared defiantly back at her. "I can stand what you do with other girls in our house. But I _refuse _to come second to _her._" With that, she flounced out the door.

"Good riddance." I muttered under my breath. But this was one thing too many. Pansy had been my lover, yes, but she'd first and foremost been my friend. I sat down on my bed shaking. It felt like a long time before I had the courage to get up again.

The day passed quickly, as it always does when something that you're trying to avoid is going to happen. It seemed like I was walking down to breakfast, where I saw Hermione sitting and laughing with Pothead and Weasel (I was incredibly pissed to find that they were, yet again, holding hands), and then miraculously I was in Defense Against the Dark Arts, where I tried to concentrate on Snape's lesson, but ended up instead glancing over to see Hermione's soft brown hair on the other side of the room (and I felt myself shake with anger when I noticed that they seemed to be sitting closer together than usual), and then lunch, my evening classes and dinner all passed in a blur. Every part of my day felt like it was revolving around Hermione. I was able to pick out the back of her head in the corridors, at mealtimes, and in classes. It made me madder every time I noticed that a head of ginger hair seemed to be stuck like glue to her side.

_Stop it! _I reprimanded myself. You aren't even sure you like the girl. You're making it a bigger deal than it is. But I was starting to accept the extremely horrible fact that I might have felt much more than just liking her. I prayed instead that it was simply seeing her with Weasly all the time made me felt like I couldn't have her, and so in turn, making it just that bigger of a challenge for me. But I think deep down inside I knew that wasn't it.

Before long, dinner was over, and I reported to outside Mr. Filch's office, which is where we met to begin our patrols. Granger arrived slightly late, and out of breath. My eyes raked over her, and I noticed signs that I didn't want to see. Her hair was slightly mussed, and she looked incredibly happy. She and Weasly had left dinner early that evening. I hated myself for noticing these small details.

"Ready to get started?" she asked smiling. She acted as if we were friends now or something. I just nodded to her, but didn't say anything. We walked in silence for a long time. The hallways and corridors were empty of any mischief. We found no students, although we passed Professor McGonagall going up one of the stair cases.

"Good evening." She said, in that strict voice of hers. I made a kind of grunting sound. McGonagall looked at me sharply, but didn't say anything. She was too used to us Slytherins not showing her the proper amount of respect.

"Good evening, Professor." Hermione said brightly. What did she have to be so bloody chipper about? And then I remembered what it likely was that she was happy about, and my mood soured further. She'd told me just last night that she wasn't Weasly's girlfriend. And I'd assumed, foolishly it appeared, that she was going to stop whatever was going on between the two of them. Just the thought of him attached to her side made me see red. I couldn't believe the stupid prat was making me feel jealous.

I was making a list of bad things I could do to the Weasel in my head from alphabetical order. I was on 'disemboweling' when I felt Hermione stop beside me.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked me. I didn't look at her.

"Nothing." I tried to make my voice sound even and calm. She didn't buy it.

"Then why the hell haven't you looked at me, or said a word to me the whole night?"

"Just let it go, all right?" I said. I was tired, moody and hungry. I'd had enough for the day, and I really didn't feel like getting into it with her. Of course I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

"No." She said stubbornly. "Tell me what's wrong. What did I do to piss you off?" I couldn't explain what I was feeling to her, not without it all coming rushing out. And boy did it want to. I could feel every pent up thought I'd had that day waiting to rush out of my mouth. I didn't speak but kept on walking.

"You aren't four you know." I finally looked at her. I did not appreciate her throwing my own words from the previous night back at me. But what really set me off was that she was smirking. And let me tell you, it was a smirk worthy of a Malfoy. I lost it.

"How about because last night you clearly wanted to jump my bones and today you're all over Weasly?" I kind of screamed at her. It was a good thing no one was around, because my voice was so loud that it reverberated off of the walls. "You told me last night that you didn't even like him, and then you show up to the patrol, late I might add, looking as if you two have been doing GOD KNOWS WHAT!" She only gaped at me for a second.

"How dare you?" She said, raising her own voice. "You have no right to assume that about me!"

"Oh, it wasn't an assumption." I retorted. "Anyone could tell what you'd been up to!"

"For your information, he took me out on a broomstick!" She yelled. "He and Harry have both been trying to get me to ride one, but I haven't had the time so far this year, and I finally did, and we were zooming around the bloody Quidditch pitch!" I'd never seen her so furious. "But even if I hadn't, I don't see where it's _your_ right to dictate who I hang out with!" She paused for a moment. I was lost for words, although none of my anger had disappeared. I did feel slightly humbled though for assuming that she'd been…well, you know.

"I can't believe you're really jealous about that." She grumbled. I felt my face turn red.

"Jealous?" I asked incredulously. "I'm not jealous!" I screamed. "But you are kind of sending mixed signals you know!"

"Perhaps you just never learned how to interpret them!" She yelled back. I didn't get to reply, for at that moment Peeves came swooping down from above us. He must have heard our voices.

"Oooh….now, now ickle prefects, yous isn't supposed to be fighting!" He cackled. He floated above us, making annoying sounds.

"Get out of here Peeves!" Hermione screamed at him. He grinned evilly at her.

"Now missus, that's no way to be speaking!" He said gleefully. "Old Peevsie might ought to tell on you for that." Hermione suddenly looked frightened.

"You wouldn't!" She cried. She wrung her hands. Honestly, the girl was such a goody goody. I had a sudden inspiration.

"Do it Peeves, and I'll get the Baron to make sure you wish you hadn't." Ah, the power of a good threat. Peeves seemed to almost fall out of the air. He glared at me for a moment before zooming away. I stalked away from Hermione.

"Our patrol time is over." I called over my shoulder. I couldn't face her, because I knew I didn't know how well I could reign in my anger. Hell, I'd never allowed anyone to get under my skin like this. She made every feeling in me stronger, hate, lust…you name it, and I felt it right at that point. I wanted to bang my head against one of the stone corridor walls.

Just once, I'd like to know what went on in the girl's head.

**So, what did you think? I hope you liked it. I watched Tom Felton earlier on youtube…he was singing a bunch of songs. I didn't know he could sing OR play the guitar. Sigh. And just when I thought he couldn't get any hotter. *daydreams***

**Please review. =)**

**Meghan**


	12. Chapter 12

**Bahahaha! My parents are not home today, and I can write as much as I want. Hence, a chapter during the day. =) Please enjoy, and please review! I'm so grateful to all of the people who have reviewed continuously since I've been reposting this story. **

**But it still ceases to amaze me that 83 people have this story on story alert, and 57 have it on favorites, and yet…hardly any of you review. =( It makes me berry sad. =( See? So please please please, just take a moment to leave me your comments! It's the greatest gift a writer can get.**

**Meghan**

I felt like someone had slapped me in the face. It was the second time I'd watched the back of his cloak swish away out of sight and it hurt even worse this time than it had the last. I wonder how bad the fight would have gotten if Peeves hadn't come and shaken me back to my senses.

Draco was being so incredibly stupid! What was it with teenage boys and possessiveness? I'd noticed the same look in Ron's eye when he held my hand and in Harry's when he gazed at Ginny and Dean. Honestly, they all act like they're a bunch of children.

I marched furiously back to the common room. I should have spoken long before our three hours of patrolling were almost up; then, the git wouldn't have had an excuse to walk away from my side. Logical me told me perhaps it was a good thing I'd waited, because it was a good chance the fighting might have picked up again once Peeves left, and there was no telling who might have heard our screams next.

I told her to shut up.

The whole day just seemed to be haywire. I mean, first off, there was that little problem of waking up to find myself in an unfamiliar place. It took a moment for all of the occurrences of the night to come rushing back to me. Once they had, I was scared to find myself alone. I'd bared myself to him, and he'd seemed to reciprocate. But if he had, surely he wouldn't have left this morning without saying something to me. But I need not have worried, for a few minutes later, he came back through a door near the kitchen carrying a tray of food.

Merlin, he looked so handsome, even first thing in the morning. When I spoke back to him, I felt suddenly shy. Who was I to be able to have any kind of connection with this wonderful man? And he was. For five years of my life, I'd been missing out on Draco Malfoy's company. Of course, he might have really been a twitchy little git back then, but I doubted it. No, I think he'd always secretly harbored this soft side of him. The side that had comforted me, and done all those wonderful things for me last night…and spoken with concern about me wandering the corridors by myself. It felt like everything I'd ever dreamed for in a man had miraculously shown up in the form of my least favorite Slytherin. Who knew it was possible?

Of course, he'd put a sudden damper on things, by hurriedly leaving. I wondered what his change in attitude had been for. He'd seemed genuinely happy to see me for a moment when he'd first walked through the door. I wondered if perhaps maybe he'd suddenly realized that he had yet to complete a homework assignment that was due today?

I shrugged and tried to put it out of my mind as I ate a little of the breakfast he'd brought me. I thought it was incredibly sweet of him to do so. I pulled on various articles of my clothing. I felt like I was in a dream state, just reliving everything that had happened once Draco had entered the room of requirement with me.

It seemed that in no time I was back in my own dormitory. I considered taking a shower, but I really didn't have time. Instead, I rinsed my hair out over the bathtub and twisted it into a long plait that fell softly down my back. When I returned from my quick wash up, Ginny was sitting on my bed, picking at a thread of fabric on the comforter.

"Ginny?" I asked, surprised. "How come you aren't at breakfast with everyone else?" I was running quite late, and would only manage to get there for the last part of it, but Ginny, while not an early riser, certainly never left this late, and hardly ever came into my dorm room. She didn't look at me for a moment.

"Where were you last night?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound nonchalant, but failing miserably. She still wasn't looking me in the eye, but I could see her face turning red.

" I fell asleep in the Room of Requirement." I told her truthfully. She didn't' have to know the little details like the fact that Draco had been there with me. She seemed to suspect something however, because she finally looked at me and her eyes were blazing.

"I'm telling you this as a friend, Hermione. Don't do what you're doing. You're going to regret it later." She said, shaking her head slightly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked her, my voice rising slightly. "I'll damn well do what I like, Ginny." My voice was cold. I'd never spoken to her this way. She looked at me for a moment.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She muttered. She climbed off the bed. "I'm just trying to help. I'm worried about you. You're acting different."

"I am not!" I retorted. I knew that in responding so childishly I was proving her right, but I didn't care. She raised her voice back at me.

"Oh really? You aren't? You've never _ever _spoken to anyone that way in your life, much less me, and I don't think I've ever heard you cuss except for when the OWL tests were coming up." I realized how true her words were, and I felt my shoulders slump.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly. "There's just a lot going on that I'm not used to. But really…" I said, almost pleading with her now, "He isn't as bad as he used to be."

"Really?" Ginny asked skeptically. "Then how'd you get that bruise on your face, Hermione?" Hell. I'd totally forgotten about the stupid mark when Draco and I had started kissing. I felt myself blush.

"I…I fell." I lied.

"You fell." She replied coolly. "Well, I've never seen a bruise from a fall that's shaped like a hand, but if you insist." She turned to walk out the door.

"Ginny, wait!" I called. She looked at me haughtily. The expression looked so out of place on her normally smiling face. I took a deep breath.

"Fine. I'll tell you." And I did. I relayed how the other Slytherins had cornered me, and Draco had rescued me, and finally, how we'd spent the night together in the room. Ginny's eyes widened with every part of the story that I'd told her.

"I don't know…" she said slowly. "Doesn't it seem fishy to you that out of _all _ the people who could turn up, he was the one that did?"

"So what if it was him?" I asked defensively. "At least _someone _was there to get me out of that scrape. And besides, he didn't pressure me or anything the whole time we were together!" I said heatedly. "In fact, he told me we shouldn't, because he didn't want me to regret it later!" Ginny looked shocked at this information. Then her eyes narrowed.

"I don't know what he's playing at, but I don't trust him. However…if you do…then, well I'll keep my suspicions to myself." Ginny promised. I hugged her.

"Good. Now let's put this behind us and go get some breakfast!" I said, trying to be cheerful. She was trying too, and I really appreciated it.

When we got down to breakfast, Harry, Ron, Seamus and Dean had already cleared most of the food off of the table.

"Honestly," I said walking up to them, "you lot act as though you haven't eaten in weeks!" Ginny giggled beside me. I sat down next to Ron, and she went down around the other side of the table next to Dean. Ron still was cramming food into his mouth with his left hand, but his right reached out to scoop up mine. Ginny looked at our intertwined fingers sharply for a moment, but then she saw that I'd caught her looking, and instead tried to smile in support. Instead it looked like she might have had a bad toothache. I knew why she was disapproving. She didn't want Ron to get hurt. But couldn't she see that by doing this, I was making him happy? And I had no idea how long the thing with Draco would last…I shouldn't make Ron miserable because of something that might not happen. Rebellious me was internally banging on the side of my skull, furious that I would consider such a thing. Logical me sat through all of the noise quietly and smugly. Just then, Seamus, in his haste to cram everything in his vision into his mouth, tipped over a glass of juice all over himself. I couldn't help but laugh, and the others joined in.

I felt a pair of eyes on me, definetly not Ginny's this time. I couldn't meet what I knew would lead to a steel grey gaze. I didn't want all of my uncertainty about him to come washing back to me, not in this moment when I suddenly felt normal.

The rest of the day passed slowly for me. I wanted to see Draco again at patrol tonight, and he'd made no attempt to make a further advance on me in any of the few classes that we shared together. I didn't know if he'd ever do it again. After all, we weren't supposed to be together. It was against the status quo for Gryffindors and Slytherins to even converse without insults being thrown, so it would have been completely off the charts to find two of those houses dating one another.

Dating. I almost had to laugh at the idea of imagining that word in reference to Draco Malfoy. He didn't date. He had women friends, and lots of them, sure, but he didn't date. The closest thing to a girlfriend he'd ever had was Pansy Parkinson, but they didn't really seem like they were together. After all, I saw her with almost as much men as I'd seen Draco with women. I wondered if currently I was the only woman he was trying to seduce. The thought pained me.

Although not as much as his stony expression pained me once I'd met him in front of Flich's office after dinner. I'm ashamed to say that I was a few minutes later than I should have been. But I couldn't help it. I'd just had one of the most thrilling experiences in my life (aside from snogging Draco, that is.) Ron and Harry had both been trying to get me on a broomstick since about second year. I'd always been so terrified of heights, but that summer, I'd decided to conquer my fear. I'd told them all this a few days ago. They were extremely happy, because the both of them had given me up as a lost cause. However, I hadn't really had time yet to get a chance to learn. But that evening at dinner, Ron had leaned over and whispered conspiratorially in my ear.

"Come on," he said, tugging at my hand. "I want to show you something." I was honestly scared that he was trying to bring us to a private place in hopes that our almost-relationship would progress to the next level, and as he headed toward the deserted Quidditch pitch, a sinking feeling settled into my stomach. Merlin, how was I going to tell him that I wasn't, and probably would never be, ready for what he was about to do? But he surprised me.

"Wait here." He asked of me. I stood still, watching the sky grow ever darker. In a few moments, he had returned with a broomstick in his hand. The sinking feeling in my stomach lessened to some degree, but I was still nervous about climbing on a broomstick.

However, once Ron had securely wrapped his arms around me, I felt a teensy bit better.

"Now, don't try to grab onto the handle." He warned. "Otherwise I won't be able to steer properly." I felt nauseous.

"What the bloody hell am I supposed to hold onto then?" I squeaked. He'd just laughed and whispered in my ear.

"Just hold on to me." I felt guilty, thinking that this evening ride probably meant so much more to him than it did to me. But in the next moment, we had lifted off the ground and were shooting through the air, and I'd forgotten everything. Most of me felt like it was still standing on the ground, while my stomach was the only organ that was truly experiencing the slight swooshing sensation from the broomstick. I closed my eyes. It didn't seem so bad, and after I'd been on a few more minutes I'd actually opened them.

The rest of the evening had been quite fun. Ron had flown around the pitch for a good long while. Near the end, he'd brought us down much lower, and attempted to teach me to steer. Needless to say, _that _didn't go so well.

But I'd been having such a good time that I' almost forgotten about my prefect's duties.

"Hell!" I said out loud. "Ron, I've got to go, I've got patrol tonight!" He immediately set me down on the ground. He looked slightly crestfallen. Oh, damn me and my tendency not to let things be. I rushed back over to his side and kissed him on the cheek.

" I had an amazing time." Shit. Why couldn't I have just said good, or great, or even fun? No. I had to go with amazing. A thousand watt smile seemed to light up his face.

"I'm glad." He said shyly. He must have realized how his voice sounded, because he spoke again making it sound much gruffer. "Well, you better get going." I gave a little laugh and then turned and ran to Filch's office. Draco had eyed me up and down when I got there. When I greeted him, he simply nodded at me. That was when I first knew something was wrong.

However, I didn't press the matter, until like I said, hours later. The fight was the worse one I'd ever had with anyone.

When I finally reached the common room, I didn't feel like I was even thinking properly. My brain seemed to be refusing to work. Ron was the only one still sitting in the common room when I came through the door. Perhaps that was the reason I did what I did. Maybe if someone else would have been there, I would have done it then too. But I doubted it. Ron, whatever his less desirable qualities were, was a safe zone for me. He was my friend. He was home.

He had barely registered the fact that I had entered the room.

"Hey, how was part—" but he didn't get any more of the sentence out.

For at that moment, I stood on my toes, and I kissed him full on the lips.

**Please review. =) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I just thought it was a good idea for you to know what had been going on in Hermione's head all day.**

**Happy Reading!**

**Meghan**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so excited for the onslaught of reviews that I got! =) It gave me warm fuzzies to come back to my inbox and see so many wonderful things that people had said about my story! It's a truly great feeling, let me tell you. Lol. I appreciate it so much you guys. =) Ya'll totally make it worthwhile. **

**Also, if you want to know more about me, or see my updates or whatever, I'm now on Twitter. Just search for Meghan Welborn, and you should be able to find me allright. =) Hey, then you can continuously yell at me for not updating as quick as you'd like! Haha. Allright, I'll shut up now.**

**Meghan**

I stepped back from him after just a moment.

_HERMIONE GRANGER WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? _

I'd just kissed Ron! Ron, when last night I'd been so ready to climb into bed with Draco Malfoy! Ron, who was now looking as though he'd won the lottery, _and _eaten a cauldron full of Chocolate Frogs. I quickly began back tracking.

"Ron, I'm sorry I wasn't thinking, I don't know what made me do it—" But a moment later, I knew the damage had already been done, because Ron brought his lips swiftly back to mine. I tried to pull away, but he was fairly strong, and I don't know if he could even tell I was trying to back away from him.

" 'Mione.." he whispered. I felt no tingly sensations running up and down my spine, nor did I feel butterflies in my stomach, or even that bubble of happiness one usually gets while one is being kissed. He started to put his lips on mine again, but I simply couldn't bear it.

"Ron, please don't." I mumbled, as I turned my face away so that he kissed my cheek instead. He looked confused for a moment.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking bewildered.

"Oh…Ron…I just, I'm sorry, I had a really bad evening, and you're such a good friend, and I—I lost my head for a moment. I'm so sorry." I waited for the pain to flash through his eyes, but all I saw was concern. For me. God, I was a stupid, foolish, bloody idiot. I couldn't think of enough bad words to call myself.

"What happened?" he asked me. "What did Malfoy do?" Oh why did I open my mouth? I hurriedly tried to make up something on the spot through the tears that were starting to fall down my face.

"He just…was awful. He said horrible things, and I don't know why I let him get to me, but I did and we yelled at each other and Peeves came and threatened to take away my badge…" I was hiccupping and sobbing now, and my nose was probably running as well. God I was such an idiot. And a snotty nosed idiot at that.

Ron didn't seem to mind though. He pulled me close into a tight hug. Then he looked at me seriously and said, "But 'Mione," I felt a shudder of revulsion at the shortening of my name, " Peeves can't take a prefect's badge away." I couldn't help it, I laughed. Ron smiled too. Logical me was nudging me. He was a good person. He was a great friend, most of the time. He was loyal, and funny and although he wasn't the brightest light spell ever cast, he wasn't a dim witted troll either. He and I had been through a lot together. Everyone expected us to end up together. Would it really be so bad to be with him, even though I wasn't as attracted to him as I was to Malfoy?

Rebellious me said if I had to go through everyday hearing him call me "'Mione" than we bloody well could _not _put up with him every day. I sighed as I leaned into his shoulder. It should have been such an easy decision really. If things hadn't started happening with Draco, then I probably would have never known I could feel like this and would have settled—er—chosen Ron anyway. He pulled away and kissed me on the forehead.

"You really ought to go to bed." He said, taking a closer look at me. "You look like you could use a good night's rest." I nodded, exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the day.

"I'll see you in the morning," I said, getting up to leave. As I did so, he pressed his lips gently to mine. I kissed him back, and as I did so, I tried to put away all thoughts of Draco and honestly think about the kiss I was sharing with Ron. He was a good kisser, no doubt. His kisses were much more timid and shy compared to the ones with Draco that were all about control and compassion and losing myself in the moment. I was able to think clearly and evaluate and analyze when I was kissing Ron. When I was near Draco, and he was kissing me, the whole damn castle could have been falling to the ground and I wouldn't have noticed unless a falling stone hit me on the head. Ron's kisses had more care in them though, which came from the years of friendship. It was a basis that Draco and I didn't have, and the one thing that made Ron's kiss more enjoyable. The kiss was not very long, but when we broke away Ron was smiling and he looked dazed.

"Goodnight." He said softly. I smiled at him before going up to my dormitory. Claire was doing a bit of homework, and Parvati and Lavender were giggling. About something stupid probably. I had no desire to engage in conversation with any of them. Instead, I shut the hangings around my bed closed and cast a silencing spell around my bed. Now I could no longer hear them, and they wouldn't hear me. Problem solved. I rolled over, praying that sleep would come easily and naturally. I was after all exhausted, and I'd gotten a scarce amount of sleep last night. It should have been easy to sink into an unconscious state.

But of course, fate wouldn't be that nice to me.

My mind fretted for hours over my internal debate between Draco and Ron. I made pros and cons lists in my head. Draco came out on the negative side of it, and Ron on the positive. It made no difference to my pounding heart. I tried analyzing the risk factor. Draco was again on the down side of the equation. Yet, my body seemed to still be longing for his touch.

When I finally did drift off to sleep I had a dream about a smirking, handsome and pointed face, that was crowned with sleek platinum blonde hair.

The next morning, I woke up with a feeling of dread in my stomach without quite knowing why it was there. And then, the fight with Draco and the kiss with Ron came flooding back to me, and I seriously considered skipping the entire day and going back to bed. Logical me vetoed this plan and reminded me that even if I did skip today, my problems would still be waiting tomorrow, along with a nice big pile of homework. I sighed as I picked myself up off the bed and went and got dressed. I was running late, yet again, but as I climbed down the stairs I saw Ginny waiting in the common room for me.

"So." She said, when I was within earshot. "Ron seems incredibly happy this morning." She jerked her thumb towards the door. "He, Harry, Dean and Seamus all went down to breakfast a few minutes ago. He kept gesturing to Harry with his hands, and looked up pretty often at the girl's dormitories." She was trying to keep her voice level. When I answered her, I tried to sound giddy and with the air of someone who has great news.

"Well…it might be because of something last night." I saw Ginny analyze the fake smile on my face, but I couldn't tell what her verdict was. I pretended like I couldn't hold my secret in anymore.

"I kissed Ron!" I squealed with fake excitement. Damn me to the deepest pit of hell. I was lying to one of my good friends, and using one of the other ones. She looked at me carefully for the minute.

"What about the…other problem?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"You were right." I knew she heard the truth in my voice that time. She had been right. Draco Malfoy was a jealous prat that probably didn't really care about me in the first place. So what if it stung a little to admit it out loud? "It's totally forgotten about." I tried to plaster on another smile to my drained face, but I needn't have bothered. At the words 'you're right' Ginny had totally and completely done a one-eighty. Her familiar smile was back in place, and she seemed genuinely happy.

"I'm so glad!" She squealed back. I thought I might barf from having to conjure up more fake enthusiasm. "Well I mean, it is kind of gross because it's my brother…but still…" she patted me lightly on the arm. "You made the right choice." She gave me another grin, and then walked towards the door. She called over her shoulder.

"You coming?" I took a deep breath before I trudged after her. This was going to be a long damn day. My only relief from both Ron and Draco was during Arithmacy and Ancient Runes. I grew even more fond of the classes than I originally had been. All day long, I dealt with my and Ron's new "relationship", which consisted of him walking me to the classes that he did not even share with me, holding my hand, putting his arm around me, occasionally offering to carry my books for me (even though he looked at the great stack of them with animosity every time) and eating slower at the two mealtimes I attended so as to actually speak to me.

I was also dealing with the malevolent glare I could feel burning in the back of my skull all day long. Why on earth was he acting this way? One moment he wanted to jump in the sack with me, the next he was acting like a real friend, and then he was giving me the cold shoulder, and now this jealous bit? I couldn't keep up with his stupid mood swings. And I was sick and tired of playing this little guessing game with him. I tried to block the feelings out of my head that I knew were there for Draco. But, the bitchy side came out in me a little bit, because every time I felt Draco's grey eyes trying desperately, angrily, to meet my own, I laughed a little harder, smiled a little bigger and kissed Ron with a little more enthusiasm. This was usually in the middle of the hallway. Ron got quite flustered, but kissed me back eagerly, Harry pretended to look away mostly, Seamus had started taking to making fake retching noises when he saw us at it. I was quite sure Dean might have joined him if it hadn't been for Ginny forbidding it.

But finally, after Potions was over, I couldn't take the façade any more. I didn't want to have to deal with the image of being "Ron's girlfriend" or trying to avoid Draco. It took too much energy. So, I went where I hadn't gone since the night Draco had kissed me: the library.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon, and Madame Pince was at her desk, and there were students scattered through the library. It was oddly peaceful, and I felt the tension leave my shoulders almost immediately. For who could disturb me here, with my haven of books and studious classmates? I gave Madame Pince a small smile when I entered. I chose a table right next to a high arched window. It had an amazing view of the lake and the setting sun. But, most importantly, it was in most of the people in the library's view. Ron wouldn't dare bother me when I was studying, but the same could not be said for a certain Slytherin prick. I would not allow him to catch me off guard so easily again.

When people started leaving and packing up their belongings, I too cleared away my things and said good evening to the librarian. However, before I stepped out into the hallway, I cast a Disillusionment charm to hide myself from unwanted and prying eyes. Sure enough, as I walked camouflaged down the hallway, I saw Draco lounging against the wall. He must have seen me come this way after potions, or else guessed that the library was where I would be.

Obviously, he'd heard footsteps coming down the stone corridor, because he'd looked up to see if anyone was there. But I wouldn't be the one at a disadvantage this time. Before he knew what had happened, I had my wand pointed against his back.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" I hissed.

"Oh, dropped the Draco, now have we?" he asked angrily. " I knew I heard you coming down the corridor."

"Well I took your advice about not wandering around without any protection." I replied scathingly. "You haven't answered my question." I said, prodding him with my wand. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he tried to look over his shoulder to see if he could spot me. "I wanted to talk you."

"So talk." I spat. "It doesn't mean I'll listen."

"Do you ever?" he retorted. Before I could respond however, he spoke again. "Look, I didn't come down here to fight with you." He sounded almost calm. I however was nowhere near calm. Calm wasn't even in the distant horizon for me.

"That's a first." I said sarcastically. He sighed.

"Look, it's really awkward talking to someone you can't see and especially when that same someone had their wand pointed at your back, and knows a wide range of curses. Someone might think we were enemies or something."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."I grumbled. I didn't remove his wand from my back.

"Fine!" he yelled. He pulled his wand out for a moment, and for a second, I thought he would be stupid enough to try to hex me. But, to my great surprise, he dropped the wand on the floor, and kicked it a few feet away from himself. "There." He said, sounding oddly proud. "If I try anything you don't like, Granger, then you can hex me faster than I could think about even reaching for my wand." I cast the countercharm and I reappeared.

"I could have done that with you still holding your stupid wand, Malfoy." I replied coldly. He spun around to face me.

"All right look, I want to know what's going on with you and Weasly." He said, getting right to the point.

"I can't see how it's any of your business to know." He growled at me.

"It's my bloody business if the woman I like is going with some idiotic bloke for no good reason."

"He's not an idiot!" I defended Ron. "He treats me better than you do, and he—"

"See?" he said angrily. "You don't listen! I just told you I had feelings for you, and you want to bloody argue with me about what a swell champ your little wimp of a boyfriend is!" I felt my mouth gaping open like a fish out of water. I couldn't say anything. He wouldn't look at me. He kicked at the ground angrily, like a little kid who's being punished for something he didn't consider wrong.

"You…you're joking?" I croaked.

"Unfortunately for the both of us Granger, I'm not. I wish to Merlin I was." He was serious. That instantly got me fired up again.

"Because I'm not worth liking, is that it?" I said, barely holding back the damn tears that were threatening to escape. Bugger. "Because I'm not worthy enough of the royal ass, Draco Malfoy?"

"No, because so far, I've lost one of my closest friends," he said, ticking off fingers on his hand as though he were going through a list, "if my father ever finds out, he'll disown me, and that is, if he doesn't kill me first, I'm going to have some serious explaining to do to my mates, and finally, because if I hang around you, that will mean time around Pothead and the Weasel clan." I stood stock still for a moment.

"So it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm Muggleborn?" I asked skeptically. I wonder who the friend was that he'd lost.

"Hermione, think back. When's the last time I've called you a Mudblood?" It took me a moment to actually remember.

"The day on the train." I whispered quietly.

"If that isn't proof enough for you, what is?" He ran his hand through his hair irritably. I loved that little quirk. He did it every time he was frustrated. I felt my resolve crumbling. I could practically feel Rebellious me knocking down my protective wall with a breaking ball.

I took a few steps toward him.

"I don't know Draco. I'm really sick of being on the receiving end of your emotions…" I said.

"Really? You rather seemed to like it the other night." He said smirking. I shook my head.

"This is going to be really difficult."

"I like a challenge."

"There's a bunch of variables that could end badly here."

"Without risk there can be no gain."

"I'm kind of with Ron." I admitted. His glare darkened.

"I kind of noticed." He said sarcastically. "Don't worry, I'll just kill the Weasel, and then you won't have to worry about it." I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. I just sighed and shook my head.

"Oh, and one more thing. You have to stop acting like a total ass." He smirked again.

"Now, Granger, you know that isn't possible with my nature." I giggled.

"Of course not." He took a few steps toward me.

"It'd be like me asking you to stop being such a bossy know it all. Then you wouldn't be the woman who irritates me to no end…" I glared at him. "And who, currently, I'm completely infatuated with." My next words were lost as his mouth covered mine in a passionate kiss.

Who the hell had I been trying to kid by telling myself that there was even one thing about Ron's kisses that made them better than Draco's? We stumbled backwards, out of sight of the hall, hanging on to each other as though we would never let go.

**Hope you enjoyed! Sorry again about the late night posting, but it's been a hectic day. I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I'd feel more compelled to do so if I got another big batch of reviews. =)**

**Thanks again for ALL of the reviews I've gotten so far from ya'll and don't forget to look me up on Twitter! =D**

**Happy Reading.**

**Meghan**


	14. Chapter 14

**Oh my goodness….from eleven a.m. to nine o'clock tonight I stood on my feet, waiting tables, taking orders, running the cash register, and basically everything a waitress is expected to do at a small restaurant where there's only five other people on shift (this is including the kitchen staff and manager/owner). It was such an amazing surprise to come back and have found nine reviews on my latest chapter, and the total number of people on the story alert list has now reached a 101. Plus, HellaAdams has been doing a wonderful job of translating my story into another language so others can read it, and I'm really flattered by that. So thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed, whether it's been every revamped chapter, or if you've only put in your thoughts just lately. They're all so wonderful, and I'm truly grateful that I have readers like you guys. **

**I'm so incredibly happy I won't even say "Please review" and stress my sanity that's completely based upon that. That's how ecstatic I am currently. **

**I love ya'll!**

**Meghan**

There were so many variables that could go wrong here, as Hermione had reminded me mere moments ago. But my father, my friends, the prejudice I'd had against her…none of it mattered in that moment. All that mattered was that I felt a sense of relief that she was in my arms, and returning my kisses with enthusiasm. I sighed happily into her open mouth, and I felt her smile against my lips.

I wasn't angry at her anymore. Oh I had no fantasy that our peace would last, because our personalities tended to clash so often. But I didn't care anymore. If I had to choose between spending the rest of my days fighting with her, or having a wife that would bend to my every whim, I'd take her in a heartbeat. I was so enthralled by her kisses that I didn't realize the thoughts my directions had taken.

She was so warm. Somehow willing and resistant at the same time. She truly had become the greatest challenge ever. And it was a challenge that I'd be ecstatic to work on for the rest of my miserable, sodding life. Hermione was too good for me. I knew it, she knew it. The best friend of Harry Potter should not like a man who was slated to become a Death Eater. It didn't matter if I was a pureblood and she a Muggleborn. She had a heart of gold and mine was probably made of something slimy and foul. And yet, I felt as though with her, it was slightly less so.

She broke away gently from the kiss. She was breathless and her face was red.

"We shouldn't be doing this." She said, shaking her head. But there was no real conviction in her voice, just a hint of uncertainty.

"Why the hell not?" I asked, nuzzling her neck. She moaned softly into me. She was so damn enticing…it shouldn't be legal.

"It's just because…well you know…" I kissed her gently again. "Well damn it all. I had a whole list of reasons, and I can't seem to remember them." I grinned.

"Surely that says something about the importance of those reasons then?" I asked her. She laughed lightly.

"Well, there is one I can remember that's fairly important…" she said sadly. She sat down on one of the desks in the empty classroom we were in.

"What now?" I asked, sighing as I sat next to her.

"Well," she said, turning bright red, "Like I told you earlier…I'm kind of…with Ron." I snarled.

"And like _I _told _you _I'll kill the stupid Weasel just to simplify things." I hated the thought of him touching her, kissing her, when he had no right to her at all. She was _mine._ I pulled her tighter to me.

"Draco, I can't breathe." She complained. She pulled back and looked at me. "You're not allowed to harm him in any shape, form or fashion, got it?" I grumbled under my breath but didn't answer her. She glared at me for a moment.

"Fine, then. What's your brilliant plan of action?" I asked her sarcastically. She laughed at me, and I couldn't understand why.

"You know, as much of a turn on as it is, I don't think you're really the jealous type." She said, still smiling. "And I must admit, it is a bit trying after a while." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose I'm just going to have to tell him."

"Tell him what? About us?" I asked her.

"Well…yes." She said blushing. "That is…if there is an us?"

"Oh there most certainly is an us." I said, kissing her on the cheek. She giggled slightly. I found that it didn't annoy me as Pansy's giggles had, but instead, made me want to smile and laugh too.

"Well then, I'll break it off with him tonight…and then I'll…I'll tell him…why are you shaking your head at me?" I'd started doing so before she even got half way through the sentence.

"You're supposed to be bloody brilliant, for crying out loud, woman." She looked at me in polite bewilderment. "You can't honestly think that it's a good idea to tell one man that you're ditching him for another. It's not exactly the best way to end things with a bloke. Of course, I'd prefer if Weasly never spoke to you again, but you seem rather attached to the rodent, so I thought it would be prudent to warn you. And," I added as an afterthought, "even if you hadn't been 'dating' him, I highly doubt he and Potter would welcome me with open arms." She spluttered for a moment.

"I'm sure if it's what made me happy than they wouldn't mind!" I laughed.

"Stop and think about that for a moment, would you?" She did. "Oh all right, maybe not exactly a warm welcome." She agreed grudgingly. "But that doesn't mean you all couldn't become friends with time!" I gave her a skeptical look.

"We can barely stand to be in the same room together without tossing a hex. I have no interest in becoming Potter's friend. I have no interest in _ever _ doing _anything _remotely kind for Weasly."

"You didn't want anything to do with me at one point either." She said quietly. I felt slightly guilty. But this was an area I wouldn't give in.

"Hermione, how would you feel if I asked you to take a rendezvous with any of my mates?" I saw the look of loathing spring up upon her face before she could hide it. But to her credit, she at least tried to make an attempt at civility towards them.

"I—I would give them a chance at least." She said stubbornly.

"We both know you wouldn't."

"Fine." She huffed. "I suppose I see your point." She glanced down at a watch on her wrist. "I really should be leaving. They'll be wondering where I'm at, and if Harry sees me on the map with you…" Her voice trailed off.

"Map?" I asked suspiciously. "What map?" She looked down at her feet and I could tell she was hiding something from me.

"Oh it's nothing…" She said weakly.

"Oh come off it!" I said. "What kind of a map has Pothead got?"

"Don't call him that, please." She begged. "He's still my friend you know."

"All right, all right," I agreed. "But tell me, please, about this map of _Potter's _then." She glared defiantly.

"I have my secrets, and you have yours." That shut me up. "It'd be different if it was something about me Draco, but it isn't my secret to tell, and I won't." She was so bloody stubborn! It was incredibly attractive and infuriating at the same time.

"Well would you at least tell me how he'd be able to see you on this map, here with me, right now?" She blushed.

"I really can't." I sighed.

"Well, what are you going to do about Weasly?" I asked her, as she stood from the desk.

"I'm going to talk to him tonight…but I won't tell him about us." She said, reaching a good compromise. "Because I just can't sit there and do this intentionally to him…but I can't stay away from you." She eyed me, her gaze travelling appreciatively. I felt goose bumps arise on my skin from the intensity of her gaze. I couldn't stand it any longer, and I pulled her in for another kiss.

She pulled away laughing. "Merlin, you're hormonal Draco." She said, still chortling.

"Oh, because you're so much more in control of yourself, Granger?" I said her surname affectionately, not hostilely. She nodded in a dignified way.

"Of course I am!" She said. She sounded shocked, as though such a thing as her losing control was impossible. I however knew better. "I mean yes, I tend to lose my head at times when I'm snogging you…but overall, I think if I really wanted to, that I could stop."

"Would you like to test that theory?" I moved closer to her, pushing her up against the classroom wall. "Because I don't think you could do it." She glared at me with defiance in her eyes. Oooh, how that witch got to me.

"I bet you that you can't do it." I whispered in her ear. I felt her tense up against me, in an attempt to control her body's reaction. I slid my hand from where it was cupped around her face to where her neck met her collarbone, drawing lightly along her with my nail. She said nothing as I leaned close to kiss her. She met my lips forcefully, and kissed me back. My hand traveled further down to rest on her waist and she clawed me closer to her. She lifted my shirt slightly and ran her nails across my abdomen. I was getting hotter by the second. I didn't know how in the hell Hermione made me feel that way, but I was damn glad that she did. Her hand drew closer to the waistband of my pants and…

She stopped. She brought her lips to mine for a second and then whispered in my ear.

"How do you like that for control, Malfoy?" She stepped away from me easily, smiling. "I win." She sauntered away, her hips swaying more than they should have, and probably for my benefit. Of course, Hermione Granger would never fail at anything. She left me wanting her, needing to feel her body crushed up against mine.

For the first time, ever in my life, I went to bed unsatisfied that night. Because I was willing to wait. For her.

**So how do you all like Malfoy now? =) I'm truly sorry for this chapter being so short, but I hadn't planned to update at all tonight. But I couldn't just let my readers sit out there after they'd been so kind and left me so many reviews. At least this one isn't a cliff hanger. Hermione's confrontation with Ron will take place in the next chapter. Again, I'm sorry for the short length of this one, but I promise, in retribution for my actions, I will strive to make the next chapter at least 5000 words long. **

**I really, really appreciate all of yall reading my story and reviewing for it. It still stuns me that so many people are out there reading and enjoying my work. I hope I shall continue to be pleasing to you all in my writing. Thanks again. **

**Happy Reading everyone, and goodnight. **

**Meghan**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, not quite 5000 words. Lol. But I tried, I promised! Thank you again to all of you wonderful people out there reading my story, and giving me your thoughts and opinions. They're all valued very much. **

**Please keep it up! **

**Meghan**

I smiled to myself as I walked away. Ending that kiss with Draco was the hardest feat I think I'd managed to date, but he didn't have to know that. Let him think that I was in control of my hormones, even though they too were raging.

But the further I got away from Draco and the euphoria of our kiss, the more the problem of Ron began to settle itself into my mind. I grimaced. I did not by any means think that talking to him about this was going to be easy. After all, just that one sad look made me feel like a terrible person. But how could I continue leading him on like this when I was just so into Draco?

I found myself trying to envision the different outcomes of all the possible scenarios. He could scream and yell and throw a fit, which was likely. He could give me a grim, sad acceptance of the fact, which would make me feel worse. Perhaps he'd been so confused, upset, ect. that he wouldn't be able to say anything at all. Which would have been nice for the moment, but I couldn't imagine _never _speaking to Ron again. The walk to the common room was over much, much too quickly for my liking. I gave the Fat Lady the password, and with a deep breath, scrambled through the portrait hole.

It really wasn't that late yet, and there were several students still milling around the common room. This made me feel slightly better. I couldn't help it, I was feeling very coward-ish at the moment. Where was that bloody Gryffindor courage when I needed it? I quickly spotted Ron's mop of ginger hair, with Harry's untidy black head near him. They were talking with Neville and Seamus.

Ron looked so happy. I didn't know if he was talking about Quidditch, food or me (the only three things that could make him smile like that) but I hated to be the one that destroyed that moment of happiness. Logical me took this moment of weakness to remind me how easy it would be to keep playing along until I finally felt something for him. Her words…my words stung. I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to keep him as my friend. I had to do this, but I wasn't really sure it was the right thing to do anymore. But people do stupid things for the sake of their feelings towards others. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my pounding heart. I'd never 'broken up' with someone before…Viktor and I had mutually agreed that it was probably best after everything that happened with the Triwizard Tournament and Cedric Diggory, that we should part as friends. I'd never really 'dated' before or after that.

I wondered if I should have researched the subject before actually taking the step. As I approached the group of guys, Seamus nodded his head at Ron, who looked over at me. His face broke into a smile, and he leapt up from his chair in greeting. I blushed when in front of our circle of friends he kissed me lightly on the cheek. Harry and Seamus rolled their eyes, while Neville stared politely at the ground.

"Can I talk to you?" I whispered to him. He must have heard something in the sound of my voice, because he looked shocked.

"Ummm. Sure?" He said it like a question. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" I sighed. I really didn't want to, because an audience ensured the fact that he could not scream or yell at me as I thought he might. But what I was doing was already horrible enough; I wouldn't degrade him further by ditching him in front of our friends. I nodded. He turned back over his shoulder and said to the other guys, "We'll be back in a bit." Harry gave him a shifty grin and Seamus let out a wolf whistle. I flinched at what was probably going through their minds. Why was it assumed every time a girl wanted alone time with a guy that there was physical intimacy going on between the two of them? Ron led the way back out of the common room and down the corridor.

The Fat Lady was not pleased to have been woken up, again. "Didn't I just let you in?" She asked exasperated, pointing a finger at me. "You young teenagers and your tendencies to go out at all hours of the night!" She pointed at the prefect's badge on our chests. "And prefects too, no less!" She tutted, and started to make another comment, but we hurried away before she could finish. However, what she'd already said made my stomach drop again. I had patrol with Ron in two days time. Shit. The hole I was digging for myself seemed to be getting deeper and deeper. I hoped when this was all over that I could still climb out.

Ron led us to an unused classroom, and the walls were bare and there was no furniture in the room. He turned to face me.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I felt my eyes tearing up, and I couldn't speak for a moment. He saw that I was about to cry, and pulled me close for a hug. I let myself relax for a moment into his comforting embrace, and then I remembered what I was here to do.

"Ron…" I started. The tears began falling down my face now in small drops. "I…have something to say." He smiled at me gently.

"I'd gathered that much." I nodded.

"We…me and you…"at the start of my sentence, I saw confusion and anxiety in his eyes, and in his suddenly tense posture. He was no longer holding on to me closely, but seemed to have somehow managed to erect a barrier between us. He was shielding himself, as he had every right to, but I still felt the blow.

"What about us?" he asked in a would-be-calm voice, except for the fact that because I knew him so well, I could hear the fear in what he was saying.

"I—I can't do it." I hung my head. I couldn't look him in the eyes, to acknowledge the pain that I was putting him through. I kept going. It was easier to speak when I wasn't looking at him. "You're one of my very best friends, and I'll always love you in that way. I really don't have a problem being with you now…but when I look down the road to see my wedding day…I don't see you standing at the end of the aisle." As much as I tried to keep rushing on with my words, I still heard the sharp intake of breath. I cringed on the inside. "I just can't keep going on like this, when all it would do is hurt us both more. I want to be your friend, because I honestly can't live without you." Now that the damage was done, the rest of my emotions that I'd been feeling towards him came spilling out. "You're like home to me, Ron. When I'm with you, I feel happy and safe and cared for and I love that feeling, but it's the kind of feeling you get when you go home to your family…not when you go out with a boyfriend." I finally looked up at him. I couldn't read his expression, which was a first. "Please don't hate me, because I couldn't bear it if you did. You really mean a lot to me, and I never wanted to see you hurt. That's why I didn't stop this sooner." When I was finally done speaking, my voice felt dry, and my eyes seemed like they would never start watering. I could feel sobs building in my chest. Another minute passed and he still didn't say anything. Finally he drew away from me all together and sat with his head in his hands for a moment. I wanted so badly to comfort him. I tried to. I sat down next to him on the floor where he had sank down and placed my hand on his back. It killed me when he flinched at my touch.

"Please…don't." He said. He did not sound angry, just incredibly sad. I felt panic well up within me. I needed to leave, before he saw me completely lose it. I stood up.

"I—I guess I understand." I said in a whisper. "But you have to know I'm really sorry…and I never meant for this to happen. I hope you won't hate me forever." I turned around, but had only taken a few steps when I heard him sigh.

" I don't hate you, Hermione." I spun back around, and a small light of hope pierced its way through my voice.

"You don't?"

"I could never hate you." He said. He leaned back up against the wall and closed his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty upset with you, but I could never hate you. And I know you didn't do it to intentionally hurt me." This was more insight and compassion that I thought Ron was capable of. He finally opened his eyes and looked at me. They were pained. "But why didn't you just tell me to lay off?" he asked. "I have to admit, it would have been easier than getting to this point." One of his hands moved to rub the back of his neck.

"Because I didn't want to hurt you." I told him. I came closer again and sat down next to him. "You looked so happy every time that you held my hand or kissed me, and I couldn't bear to be the one to take that away from you. And," I added, "it also surprised me a little that you were even brave enough to make any kind of advance on me to begin with." I said sheepishly. "It just didn't seem like the type of thing you'd do." He nodded.

"It's good to understand I guess. And a lot of it was just chance…" He said. "Well, and Harry poking and prodding me every few minutes saying that if I didn't get a move on you were sure to be snatched up by someone else. I don't think he realized how strongly I felt about you though until just a few days ago."

"Why's that?" I asked curiously. He looked at me for a moment, obviously trying to debate on whether or not to tell me what he had told Harry. He seemed to reach a conclusion.

"Because I told him I was pretty sure I was in love with you." I felt my heart break for him. The tears started anew at the sound in my voice.

"But…honestly…I mean we're only sixteen…." I was babbling. "How would you know?" I asked him.

"Because I'm pretty sure all the signs were there." He told me. I couldn't imagine how hard this would be for him to tell me. "But now…." He leaned his head against the wall again. "I'm going to need some time." He told me. I nodded, guessing that this would be coming. After all, a person could only handle so much, and Ron had apparently reached his limit. It was more than I could ever ask of him just to sit here and talk with me after what I'd just done. I felt hopeful at the fact that even though we were no longer a couple, we would eventually be able to be friends again.

Draco was right about not telling Ron that I was seeing him. I had no doubt that the conversation would have gone much differently than it had. Draco…I needed to talk to him. I needed to tell him that I'd broken it off with Ron. I needed him to console me and tell me that everything would be all right, when I wasn't truly sure it would be.

Before I stood to finally leave, I gave Ron a small peck on the cheek. "I'll miss you." I told him quietly, and truthfully. He gazed at me for a moment, but said nothing. I stood from my position on the floor, and walked away.

I wandered around for a little while, trying to think of where Draco might be. If he was in his dorm room, than there was no chance that I'd be able to tell him tonight. Instead, I prowled my favorite haunts that had included him: The library, a couple of the corridors and the empty classroom we'd spoken in earlier. I had one place left and I was running out of hope that I would find him.

The moment I saw the door to the Room of Requirement standing solidly there, as if waiting for me, I felt my heart instantly soar. I walked through the door to find the scene different from when we'd last been there together.

The room had done itself in greens and silvers. I felt wary for a moment, as if I was really entering Slytherin territory. The walls were a light emerald, and the curtains were a light silver color. The furniture was dark green, as was the bed where Draco lay. It was the biggest bedroom I'd ever seen.

He turned to face me looking skeptical.

"What happened? I wasn't expecting you." He asked me. He could tell I'd been crying. It was pretty obvious. He stepped lightly away from the bed and wiped his hand across the back of my face, getting rid of the tear tracks.

"Why did you come here if you weren't expecting me?" I asked him curiously. He blushed slightly.

"Well…honestly, I came back because I was thinking of you." He admitted. "I was all prepared to go without seeing you for the night, and here you come waltzing in at the last moment. What I shame." He said, shaking his head in mock horror. I laughed slightly.

"So, you chose to go to bed without trying to wander off and seduce any other women?" I asked playfully. "How very unlike you Draco Malfoy."

He pulled me close to him. "What can I say?" he asked huskily. "You're worth waiting for." The last part he whispered softly into my ear.

"Mmmmm." I sighed into him. He chuckled.

"You're welcome to join me if you like." He said, sitting on the bed. In that instant I knew that something pivotal was about to happen, if I stayed. If I sat down on that bed with him, there was no question in my mind of what would eventually happen tonight. There was nothing to stop either one of us for going after what we wanted. And I wanted him very, very badly. If the way his eyes were roaming over my body was any indication, than I'd take a gamble and say that he felt exactly the same way. I decided, for this one night, I would toss caution to the winds. To hell with everything and everyone else. This night was about us.

I didn't say anything else to him, and didn't even sit on the bed next to him, but instead climbed into his lap and kissed him full on the mouth. He didn't hesitate to kiss me back forcefully, pushing his mouth against mine roughly. My hands snaked their way up around his neck. I could feel he was tense. He wrapped his arms around me and brought me closer to him. We lay down together on the bed, moving synonymously. It was effortless being with him like this. Everything else about our relationship may have been complicated, but this was a part that was natural to me. It felt like I'd waited my whole life for this moment.

This time when we began undressing, all of the clothes came off rather fast. We were both breathing heavily. I took my time to actually take him in, all of him. He was gloriously beautiful. He radiated power and strength. His arms curved around me gracefully, as though they could not possibly have fit more perfectly around anyone else. His body seemed so attune to mine. If I thought what we had done before was wonderful, than I could not imagine what this would be like.

He ran his hands over my body that was already gleaming with a slight sheen of sweat.

"Draco… "I murmured to him. He gazed at me with so much passion in his eyes that I was surprised he could contain it all in him. He kissed me roughly while his hands traveled over my chest and abdomen and finally to the juncture of curls between my legs. His hand plunged inside of me, no skimming tease as he'd done before. I wasn't sure which I preferred, because both sensations felt so amazingly wonderful. He drove his hand as deep as it would go inside of me and did this over and over again, until the heat between my legs was almost too much to bear. I wondered if I would actually be able to take all of him inside of me, if I felt so tight just around his skilled fingers.

"Can we…?" I asked him. I did not finish the question, because I wasn't sure exactly how I would ask him. How, in one simple question, was I supposed to sum up everything that I wanted from him? But I knew that he could give it all to me, and willingly. He did not disappoint. He understood what I was asking for immediately and situated himself above me. He guided himself towards me, and I felt his tip along my surface. I squirmed with anticipation and pleasure. He looked at me questioningly.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked me. I couldn't answer him because I was afraid if I did that I would scream with everything that was building up inside of me. Instead, I smiled. We gazed into each other's eyes as he slowly pushed into me for the first time. I wanted to shut my eyes so badly with the pleasure at it all, but the need to look at Draco was greater. He pushed further into me, and my walls tightened and clenched around him. He moaned.

"You…feel….so good." He told me in short gasping breaths. I couldn't think of any reply to this statement that would sound right…then again I couldn't think much at all at the moment. My whole body felt live lava, and my brain seemed to have turned to mush. He broke an inner barrier inside of me, and for a moment, I felt a small sensation of pain along with all of the pleasure. But instead of taking away from it, it just added to the bliss of the moment. He seemed to decide after a moment that I was all right, and so drew himself back out of me, slowly, scraping my inner walls. The feeling this gave me was so much better than just having his hand inside me. It was an incredible feeling that he was making me, in some small way, forever his. I hadn't realized how much that meant to me until this very moment.

Draco pushed himself in again, a little quicker and harder this time. I moaned in pleasure and dug my nails into his back. This seemed to be a green light of sorts for him, because he did not look at me in question again throughout the whole night.

He picked up a rhythm, pushing as far inside of me as he could go, and never quite fully pulling out again. Soon, just him moving in and out of me wasn't enough. I wanted to play a bigger part. I forced myself to meet every thrust of Draco's. Like the times we had kissed, I gave no ground now, but held my own and worked with him, so as to get him deeper inside of me.

I couldn't see anymore, because I felt I was so close to passing out with the sheer intensity of the orgasm that had built inside of me. I screamed when I finally felt myself release. I kept moving with him, until a moment later, I felt him free himself inside of me. I felt his essence coated along my inner walls. He did not remove himself from me. Instead, he held himself up on shaking arms over the top of me and watched me, unsure as how I would react to us still being joined even after the act was over. I pulled myself up to him and kissed him lightly. He relaxed slightly and smiled.

"That was…" I couldn't think of a word. My vast vocabulary had for once failed me, because no word seemed right for how I had felt. How right he felt inside of me. He nodded. I didn't want to ruin the moment with more words, so we lay for a long time, side by side, without speaking. We simply enjoyed the atmosphere that we had created. As I laid there I thought about all that had happened.

Never in my life had I ever imagined that I would make love to Draco Malfoy. We were, after all, completely different. Honestly, I'd never considered him physically until that day on the train. I wondered how I could have ever overlooked his obvious handsomeness, or the fact that his confidence truly was a wonderful thing.

I didn't think that I'd ever be able to feel this way with anyone else. No one else had ever given me the jitters that Draco did just by walking in the room. I got the impression that no one ever would. No…he truly was something unique. I would never again be able to find this with someone else.

But at the same time, I couldn't imagine actually being with him for the rest of my life. With a jolt of pain, I realized this could very well be the end of the road for him and I. He'd gotten what he wanted, hadn't he? And Draco Malfoy was not the type of man that usually ever went back for more than second's. If a girl was lucky, maybe thirds. But I could never hope to have a real relationship with him.

Yet, I couldn't bring myself to regret any of what had transpired between us. If I could do it all over, maybe I would have never let things with Ron begin…but I wouldn't want to miss out on a moment that I had shared with this extraordinary man. It really surprised me at how strong my feelings for him were. I wondered if it was simply because I could still feel him inside of me. But I knew that wasn't the answer. I had finally figured out what my heart had been trying to tell me.

I loved him.

There was no Rebellious me or Logical me at this moment, for how could there be? There was no logic, reason in love, and without one the other could not exist. It scared me to realize the extent of my feelings for him. He still lay lightly on top of me, and he felt me move.

"Do you want me to get off?" he asked. I could tell from the desire in his voice that he in no way wanted to move from our current position.

"No." I told him smiling. "I was just thinking."

"What could you possibly be thinking about at a time like this, love?" he asked, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face. The casual use of the name made my toes curl and my heart soar. I had to remind myself that he probably called several girls that.

" I can't tell you." I told him quietly. He looked down at me with concern.

"Why not? Did I hurt you? Oh God, Hermione, I'm so sor—" I put my hand up to cover his mouth.

"No you didn't hurt me." I pulled my hand away. He looked at me quizzically.

"Then why can't you tell me?"

"Because," I said, in a quiet voice, "I'm scared." He looked shocked.

"Scared of what?"

"What you'll say. " I admitted. He sighed and kissed me on the forehead.

"You can tell me anything." He drew his fingers in circles on my face. "Please? It's killing me to see you so troubled." I took a deep breath. We'd already risked enough for one night, hadn't we? Should I really risk more by telling him what I was feeling?

"I…I think I might…I love you." The words were out of my mouth before I could consciously stop them. I looked him in the eyes though, after I'd said it. The worst that could happen was my heart being shattered into a million pieces. But…there was that off chance that he might be okay with it, or might have even shared some feelings for me too.

"You know…" he said thoughtfully, "I think I love you too." I gasped and stared at him. He smirked slightly.

"What, you're allowed to feel something and I'm not?" he asked. "I'm not as cold hearted as you'd like to believe."

"But…you have Pansy and other…" My voice trailed off. He shook his head.

"There's no one but you." He promised me. " I hadn't realized it until just now, but I think everything I've done subconsciously so far has been because I really love you, Hermione." I couldn't take it any more. I pulled him down for another kiss.

We spent the rest of the night in each other's arms. Right where we belonged.

**This is not the end…be warned. **

**Happy Reading. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you all so much for the wonderful input you've left me in the reviews! It's so much appreciated, and I feel really terrible for going so long without updating, it's just been totally insane trying to get ready to go back to college. I promise I'll try not to go that long again without updating. Please keep up all the wonderful reviews!**

**Love ya'll!**

**Meghan**

Everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours seemed completely unreal. I knew there was no way I'd be able to go to class that day, not with everything churning in my head the way that it was.

Being with Hermione was better than I'd ever imagined it could possibly be. I mean, once I'd seen her body that day on the train, it's all I'd wanted, but actually bedding her was so beyond even my wildest imaginations. Then, she had shocked me completely by blurting out words that normally sent a bloke running for the door. However, instead, when I heard "I love you" come out of her beautiful little mouth, it felt like a tension had been lifted from my stomach that I hadn't realized was there until that exact moment. Without thinking, I'd responded. Positively. I was sure there was going to be hell to pay for it later, but why shouldn't she know how I felt about her? It's not like she'd go running off to tell her friends. Hermione was smarter than that. As long as we both kept our heads down about this, then there was no reason we shouldn't continue to see each other.

However, I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to explain it to my mates. Sure, Crabbe and Goyle, and perhaps even Flint would take a flimsy excuse, but Theo and Blaise were not going to be so easy to get rid of. Of course, I could always tell them that we'd done the deed and she'd just been a bad shag. But the only downside to that is that they may have wanted to check for themselves, and probably wouldn't have wasted time to even bother to seduce her. They weren't as patient as me, and the gleam in Blaise's eye the day he hit Hermione had been almost too real for comfort. It was just too easy to imagine either of them simply taking what they wanted from her.

At the thought of what my friends might do to the newfound love in my life, I shuddered and pulled her closer to me. Even though I could physically see she was fine at the moment, I wanted to hold her close, to protect her from everything that I knew would eventually come down upon us. I wondered when I'd gotten so blood protective. I sighed. She moved against me slightly and made a slight humming noise in her sleep. It was easy to imagine that we belonged together, here in this room, with no one else around to dissuade us, and her warm, beautiful body curled up against mine.

But the truth of the matter was, no matter how strongly I felt about her, the world would not accept us as a pair. I shuddered at the thought of what my father would do to me, or worse her, if he ever found out that I'd fallen so hard for this Muggleborn woman. My father was not a gentle man to begin with, but add in a few glasses of fire whiskey and his famous temper, and his sinister atmosphere began to rival that of the Dark Lord's.

And although her friends were nothing compared to my father, they surely would not allow her to be with me. Weasel would surely have a heart attack, and Potter would probably think I'd put some sort of spell on her. I wondered how pissed the Weaselette would be if she found out that I had shagged Hermione. Although the thought of all of them angry pleased me to no end, I could not imagine that it would be the same case for Hermione. I shifted slightly in the bed. I didn't want them to be angry with her, because it would make her upset. I'd simply have to find another way to annoy Pothead and his followers.

Hermione moved beside me, and I don't know how exactly, but I knew that she was awake.

"Morning, love." I said softly. Her brown eyes gazed up at me sleepily. I could almost see the moment the light bulb went off in her head. It helped that her face turned a brilliant shade of red. I stroked her face softly. "No regrets, right?" I asked her.

"None at all." She whispered softly, and snuggled closer against me. She yawned, opening her perfect, wonderful mouth for a moment. "What time is it?" she asked.

"About nine." I said carelessly. It was like I'd said Voldemort himself had come into the room, the way that woman jumped out of the bed.

"WHAT?" she yelped. "NINE? Dear Merlin, I've missed my first class!" She jumped around the room, trying to pull on clothes. I rather enjoyed the moment…and the view when she bent over to pull on a pair of jeans, without slipping on her knickers first.

"What's the rush?" I asked lazily. "I doubt you've missed one day in your school career, Hermione. One day won't kill you."

"The hell it won't!" She said, turning to glare at me. She was clipping her bra in the front. I wanted to say something like "don't bother" but I didn't think at this point she'd find it all that amusing. I couldn't resist the urge to lick my lips, however, eyeing her half-dressed body.

"You've only missed your first class," I reminded her, sighing. This was apparently quite the wrong thing to have said.

"I had Arithmacy first this morning, and it's probably one of the toughest classes there is!" She snapped at me. She was now yanking yesterday's shirt over her head. I didn't want to bother arguing with her. I turned over to go back to sleep. I felt her rap her knuckle on my head.

"What the _bloody hell _was that for?" I asked her angrily, rubbing my head. She shook her finger at me.

"I would think, you being second best in our year only to me, that you'd want to get out there and go to your classes, Draco!" She said scolding me. I groaned.

"But you see, I'm not as uptight about it as you are, and recognize the fact that everyone should play hooky once in a while. It helps with the brain stimulation." I said, yawning. She shook her head at me.

"You shouldn't be skiving off your classes!" I opened one eye and looked at her.

"Yes, because you Gryffindors are _always _in class, and haven't had anything slightly suspicious happen, like several people coming over ill." I saw her blush, but she retorted quickly.

"Well, I've never used a snackbox!" she said defensively. I grunted in skepticism.

"It's totally unfair that those gits refused to sell any to anyone in Slytherin."

"Well, you have to admit, most of the people in your house are giant pricks." She said, smiling. I glared at her.

"You know Hermione, if this is what waking up to you in the morning is going to be like all the time, I'm not sure the night before is worth it." I'd only meant it as a joke, but I saw her eyes tighten slightly. Before she could get all pissy at me though, I tried to save face a little.

"I'm kidding, Granger. There's nothing in the world that wouldn't be worth what we did last night." She smiled slightly at me, but shook her head as if reprimanding a child.

"Well, I'd say missing school is a pretty big thing. So we won't be able to do this anymore if you don't get your arse out of bed, and downstairs to your classes. I'd hate to be the reason your academic excellence failed." I muttered something under my breath about where she could shove her stupid academic excellence. Unfortunately, she had one over me. I left the big bed quite unwillingly.

She tapped her foot impatiently while I slowly dressed.

"Just go, Granger." I told her. "I'm in no rush, while you, obviously, are eager to refill the shoes of Mrs. Perfect School Girl." My words painted an inspiring and seductive image in my mind. "Speaking of which, next time, we really should—"

"Forget it, Draco." She said, smirking. She stepped lightly over to me and kissed me on the cheek. Before she pulled away from me, she whispered into my ear, "I don't do role playing until after the third date." My mouth hung open in absolute shock as I watched the intriguing witch jauntily step over to the door, before tossing me a wink and a wicked smile, and then left.

Damn, I loved how that woman got to me.

My second period class today had been a free period, and it was only half over, so I didn't need to rush when I was getting ready. I looked at myself in a mirror that hung on a wall in the Room of Requirement. I felt different on the inside, but I still looked every bit a Slytherin as I normally did. The only difference that was just barely there was the fact that my smirk held a hint of real happiness in it.

The bell rang as I was walking down the corridor to my third hour class. The walkway filled with students, but everyone, especially the younger students cleared the way for me. My smirk broadened. Oh, how I loved some of the aspects of being me. The Slytherins were sharing the third hour Herbology with the Ravenclaws. Blaise and Zambini were already there when I arrived. They both took one look at my disheveled hair, and wrinkled clothes and both broke into almost identical evil grins.

"Excellent." Blaise hissed under his breath. "How'd it go?" I waved my hand at him dismissively.

"I'll tell you later." I said, winking at him suggestively. Theo whistled lowly.

"That good, huh?" I just gave them a knowing look, as if it were just too much to tell them right then, when inside, I was trying desperately to scavenge for time to come up with a plausible story to satisfy them. They looked as if they'd been denied a real treat, but as we were dealing with cuttings of Devil's Snare today, they didn't have much opportunity to ask me more. I thanked Merlin that we were kept so busy.

The next class was Potions, with the mixture of the houses in Slughorn's classroom. When I entered the room, I noticed that Hermione was sitting near Longbottom, while Potter and Weasly sat together. Weasly sat forward, straight-backed and rigid as though determined not to observe his surroundings, but Potter would throw an anxious glance over his shoulder at Hermione every few minutes as though to make sure that sitting next to Longbottom hadn't caused a disastrous consequence yet. Or perhaps he just felt guilty for sitting with Weasly instead of Hermione. I don't know what idiot would choose to sit next to that bumbling, ginger haired prat over a smart, talented, gorgeous girl, but hey, if he wanted to be that way, who was I to stop him?

I sat at the desk next to Longbottom's and Hermione's, with a Ravenclaw that I didn't know. Blaise and Theo looked at me like I was nuts, but I tried to avoid eye contact with them. I sensed that they had finally had enough and were about to come over and get me, when Slughorn started class. Thank Merlin the old, bumbling oaf had gotten _something _right.

We were brewing, or attempting to brew, I should say, Veritaserum in class today, and it was taking quite a lot of effort to get the tricky instructions and ingredients all together. Hermione seemed to only be having slight problems the few times I dared to glance over at her. The frustrated look on her face was so endearing, and I had to work to keep a scowl on my own face. I tried not to think of her pretty face, but instead, try to imagine something that might irritate me. My eyes caught the back of Weasel's bright red hair. Ahhh. Perfect.

And so for the rest of the period, I worked on my potion diligently, and every time I felt myself in danger of abandoning my usual smirk, in favor of smiling at the amazing girl at the next table, I thought of how much of an idiot he was, not to try to hang onto Hermione like the jewel she was. After all, he should have been happy that she'd even given him the time of day. Yet, he was showing no outward signs of remorse that the relationship between the two of them was over. Idiotic prick.

The time flew by entirely too quickly, and I found myself facing the lunch hour with my friends, who I was suddenly keen on avoiding. I packed up most of my materials five minutes before the bell, and brought my sample up to Slughorn's desk.

"Ah, Draco!" he said pleasantly to me. "I've been meaning to catch up with you son…I wanted to give you this." It was an invitation with an emerald ribbon tied around the outside of the cream envelope.

"It's a little invitation to my Slug Club." He said beaming at me. I could see Potter glaring daggers at me from the corner of my eye. I smirked again.

"It'd be an honor, sir." I said, layering my voice with respect. I said it mostly to piss off Potter, but also because Hermione would be there, and it would be a wonderful excuse to spend time with her.

When the bell actually rang, I was out of the classroom like a bolt of lightning. I got to the crowded lunch table before Blaise and Theo, and wedged myself next to Marcus. I hurriedly began a conversation about the upcoming Quidditch season with him. We were just arguing about who Gryffindor was going to choose for Beaters this year now that the older Weasel's had left.

"I'm telling you, I think they're going to have Finnigan for sure, he's the right build—oh, hey Theo. Blaise." Marcus said, barely taking a breath to greet them before continuing the conversation with me. I knew they would eventually begin to get suspicious if it looked like I was purposefully avoiding them, but I just hadn't come up with a good story yet.

And it became apparent a moment later that I was out of time.

"Draco, a word." Theo said softly to me from across the table. Marcus just shrugged and stopped talking about Ravenclaw's chances of beating Hufflepuff. I got up from the table, with my heart pounding furiously in my chest. I tried to arrange my face into the calmest façade I could conjure up at the moment. Theo walked ahead of me, out into the entrance hall, and then to a restroom. I followed him silently. Once we were both inside, he locked the door and put a Muffilato charm on the door and stalls.

"Don't want to be overheard." He said in explanation. "And apparently you don't either." He said frowning. "What's wrong with you, man?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I told him calmly. I should have said something better or at least different; because that's the line everyone uses when they know _exactly _what the other person means, and just has no intention of volunteering information.

"You've barely spoken to us all day, you didn't show up last night, so it was obvious you were with the Mudblood, and yet you haven't mentioned anything about your…ah…encounter. It's just so unlike you." He said, raising his eyebrow questioningly.

"What happened?" he prodded, when after another moment I had said nothing. I examined my nails calmly, deliberately biding my time.

"What the hell, Draco?" he asked in astonishment. "I've never seen you keep quiet about any woman you've screwed." He was shaking his head in anger. "You should have known the shit was going to hit the fan on this the moment you woke up this morning. Now, _what the hell happened?_" I finally looked him straight in the eye.

"I can't see how it's any of your damn business what happens between us." He looked at me like I'd announced I was going to go streaking through the Forbidden Forrest.

"What's happened to you?" His eyes searched mine, as though this might possibly be some kind of trick. "What's the Mudblood done to you, mate?"

"_She _hasn't done anything." I spat at him.

"She?" Theo asked. I saw comprehending began to dawn in his eyes.

"Shit. You love her?" My silence spoke volumes, much more than a direct answer would have. I just continued to meet his steely gaze. "You can't possibly. You know that right?" he asked me viciously. I still said nothing, but tried to contain my emotions. I was fuming at his harsh words. He continued speaking as though he couldn't see the rage building inside of me. "She's a filthy little Mudblood, and to top it off, she's best friends with Potter. You can't even begin to like her, much less love her." He didn't notice my hand casually drifting towards my wand pocket. "It would never ever work. She's so far beneath you that she'd have to get a ladder just to lick the scrum of the bottom of your boots. She—"

But I never found out what else she was from him, because at that moment, I screamed a hex at him that glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth, and in another moment, had put him in a full body bind.

"Don't," I said, leaning over him and breathing heavily, "_ever _talk about her that way again." I turned to walk away, hoping that would be the end to it all.

If only I'd known the hell my life would become was just beginning.

**So what did ya'll think? =) Good, bad? I was listening to the Time Well Spent Album on my MP3 playlist while I wrote…Gah. I love Tom Felton's voice. =) Well, everything about him really. ;D**

**Bahaha…and I just saw today that he was in Get Him to the Greek. Loved it. Anywho…I'm done with my Tom Felton tangent…**

**PLEASE review! I'd appreciate it greatly! **

**Happy Reading and goodnight. **

**Meghan**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, you see, I was originally going to make this chapter about how Draco and Hermione start off their relationship, and for a while it secretly goes good, without interference from any of their friends. However, I had a bad day at work a few days ago, starting with the fact that there was only two waitresses on shift (one being me) and it was so overcrowded that there were people waiting outside, sitting on their tailgates because our restaurant had no more seating spaces, so we were having to run food out to them that way, I was supposed to get off at 8, and didn't leave until 11, and to top it off, the beginning of my shift started with me seeing an ex of mine that I was like **_**super **_**close to making out with a girl who used to be one of my best friends. He was the first person I fell in love with. And here's the real kicker… I INTRODUCED THEM! Gah…needless to say, it ruined all my happy thoughts for this chapter. Plus, I spent most of my day in the emergency room with my neighbor, and it just isn't quite the most inspiring place to be. **

**Also, Brendon won HOH on Big Brother, and that pissed me off too. But that really has nothing to do with this. **

I didn't care how amazing it was, I was never having sex on a school night again.

The entire day, I felt so out of order. Of course, being late set my day off to a horrible start, but it just seemed to keep getting worse after that. Although Ron had warned me that he would need some time before things went back to normal between us, I still hadn't expected him to act so aloof and distant. It was incredibly hard to watch him deliberately avoiding my eyes, or intentionally straying as far away from me as possible. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't being rude. I think I would have preferred it if he had been, because at least then I would have had something to be upset with him for. But he was the perfect polite stranger. He acted as if I was simply an acquaintance and it really hurt, because whether we'd been arguing, helping Harry in the struggle against Voldemort, or kissing, Ron and I had always been close. I felt tears well up in my eyes at the fact that he was being nicer to Lavender than he was to me. I knew that it was selfish of me…after all; I couldn't have both him and Draco. I wouldn't deny him happiness that way. But that didn't stop the feeling of anger and jealousy, and even a slight twinge of sadness that overcame me throughout the day when I was near him.

The other main problem was Ginny. I'd caught her giving me several dirty looks throughout the day. I could only take a guess at how much she knew, but I gathered from her dark glances that she probably knew quite a lot about what had gone on. Of course, it was common knowledge around Gryffindor tower that Ron and I had broken up. It was kind of obvious since we didn't sit next to each other that morning at breakfast, and were very stiff with one another, when we were forced to speak at all. But only Ginny knew the real reason behind my decision. And every time she looked at me, her chocolate colored eyes boiled in anger at what I'd done to her brother. I didn't want to hear the telling off that she was probably practicing in her mind. I knew I deserved it. Ginny would probably never consider me a friend against this.

Not even Draco was a source of comfort to me today, because every time I looked around for his pale blond hair, I found him with his friends, and looking incredibly stressed. Blaise threw me a dirty look once or twice, and I wondered how much he'd told them.

My day dragged on, and my unhappiness increased. I was barely able to concentrate on my classes, which was a first for me.

I was in no means regretting my decision to be with Draco. I'd made mistakes in my life, sure, but this wasn't one of them. I wasn't sure exactly how I knew this was true, but I did. I tried to remember back to the feeling last night, the euphoria that had totally and completely engulfed me after Draco and I had made love. Not only was it this best physical experience I'd ever had, but one of the most astounding emotional ones too. If having sex with him had totally blown my mind, then there was no words for the reaction that I had undergone once he had told me he loved me.

In that moment, everything made sense. Everything was right. There was no prejudice, no blood status, no irritating House lines that we had to be careful to avoid. Everything that I needed was right there in his steel grey eyes. He was so much more than I had ever hoped to find in a man. Of course, until last night, I hadn't really been sure what I'd been searching for. But apparently, it came in the form of a cocky, yet well mannered (when he wanted to be), enticing, alluring, completely-off-limits Slytherin. I sighed in despair. How could I have allowed myself to fall for his charms? Yet, it was no question that I had.

The only bubble of hope that I carried with me throughout the day was the fact that we would be alone together again soon. I was eager to get away from Ron, with his polite attitude towards me, and Harry, who divvied up his time by either looking at me warily, or in sympathy. I felt Lavender and Parvati whispering behind my back when I went to class once, apparently debating on why I had broken up with Ron so quickly.

"It sure as hell isn't because he's a lousy snog." Lavender said, giggling behind her hand. It made me smile in irony. Lavender had obviously never experienced one of Draco Malfoy's snog sessions.

Finally, in Potions, I finally got a bit of luck. The beginning of class had started off really shitty, because of course, Ron sat with Harry, and they'd chosen to sit at a two person desk instead of a four person one, so I was left alone. I looked around for a moment, panicking. I'd never had this problem before. Even when Ron had stopped speaking to me in third year, we'd just simply sat on either side of Harry and not spoken to one another. Of course, that matter had been when we were rather younger, and over a rat and a cat instead of a relationship.

Neville came to my rescue, by smiling toothily and gesturing towards the empty seat next to him. I sighed. Neville was a nice enough person, but I wasn't really sure I wanted to sit next to the accident prone boy. But still, it was better than nothing. The class passed by in a dull manner. We were brewing Veriatiserum, which did take a lot of effort . I could feel myself frowning at the complicated potion, struggling to get all the directions right.

Once or twice, I felt Draco's eye's almost catch my own in the cloudy classroom, but every time I looked up at him, he was staring intently down at his book. However, his smirk seemed to be more of an actual smile today. Odd how I notice such a little thing.

Right before it was time to go, I heard movement and noticed that Draco was packing up early. Not that this was unlike him. Most of the Slytherins, and some of the Gryffindors too, if truth be told, were always eager to get out of the classroom and onto what they considered to be greater things.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he sauntered up to the front of the classroom. I couldn't exactly hear what was being said, because I was too far back, but whatever it was, Harry did not look happy. At all. A moment later when Draco turned around to take his seat, I understood why. In his hand was a crème colored envelope with an bright green ribbon tied to it. Draco had been invited to join the Slug Club. For a moment, I was excited at the prospect of spending time with him. Then I remembered that Harry, Ginny, and Blaise would all be there, and my excitement vaporized on the spot.

I didn't see Draco again until after lunch.

We had Charms together that afternoon, but Draco barely looked at me as he breezed through the doorway. My heart tore a little inside, and I felt my eyes well up with tears. This, from the man who claimed to love me? I shuddered slightly. I couldn't bear it if he was like this to me during the day, and then at night expected us to be casual lovers. My heart and my mind wouldn't be able to take it. I tried to keep my eyes on Professor Flitwick, but they would not stop drifting over to Draco.

At first, to me, he looked stony and unreadable as always. Then, as I looked closer, and more often, I could see the faintest trace of worry in the lines under his eyes. Right after that, I noticed that Theo was missing from the lesson, and Zambini was giving Draco odd looks. I cringed inwardly about how his friends must have taken the news about Draco and I…I prayed that he hadn't told them that we slept together. I couldn't bear it if word got out that I was no longer a virgin. I'd absolutely die. I wouldn't be able to handle everyone thinking I was a slut, because I wasn't, and all of the guys thinking they could get their grimy paws all over me just because I happened to be with Draco. But with him was different.

I could just see Zambini or Nott, or pretty much any Slytherin male for that matter, trying to force me to be with them in ways that I didn't want to. Just the thought made me glare at Zambini. I'd never give him the chance to get close to me, ever again.

After Charms, I was finally able to forget about school for the day. I wished that I could go and sit in the common room by the fire, and just enjoy the evening. However, Harry and Ron would be there and—Shit.

I had patrol with Ron tonight. I'd totally forgotten. In the messed up day I'd had, the thought about having to be stuck alone with him for three hours hadn't even crossed my mind. I almost definetly wouldn't have time to see Draco now, and ask him what was bothering him. The thought made my stomach turn. No time with Draco, and extra time with my recent ex, and used to be best friend. Fan-freaking-tastic. The thought made my stomach turn.

I mean, sure, Ron had been nice to me over the course of the day, but now that there was no one to put a show on for, would his earlier tolerance vanish? My mind fretted over different ways that the evening could go. Perhaps we'd be able to patrol in silence. Maybe he'd yell at me, or worse, ask me to give him another chance. My heart saddened at the thought. I'd already had to not choose him once, and it had hurt both of us terribly. I didn't want to have to do it again. Truth be told, after the day I'd had, I didn't know if I had the strength to do it again.

At dinner, I sat with Colin Creevy, his brother Dennis, and a few of their friends. They were all younger than me, but they were all jovial and laughing, and it was the kind of tense less atmosphere that I needed at the moment. A few of them looked at me oddly when I first sat down, but Colin immediately gave me a smile and jumped out of his seat.

"Hermione!" he said excitedly. He truly was a nice guy. He was the only boy in Gryffindor, and most of the school, that hadn't checked me out yet. That I'd seen anyway. He didn't seem overfriendly, or anything, just his usual, happy-go-lucky self. I really appreciated his good nature at that moment. The other boys I'd been running around with lately made everything so complicated, but due to the fact that he was a year younger than me, and we'd never been close in _that _way, I felt totally comfortable around him at that moment.

Dinner was a pleasant affair, much better than my lunch or breakfast. I'd spent breakfast at the table, only to find a tense and silent Gryffindor table, which rarely ever happened. It was like the first time everyone had seen me on the train. I felt isolated, and like there was an unwanted, attention grabbing, neon target on my back. I'd eaten quickly, trying to endure the odd looks I could feel being shot my way. As soon as I'd left, conversation picked up effortlessly, and I'd felt my cheeks turn red in shame. Why was I being portrayed as the bad guy? People broke up all the time.

Needless to say, I took my lunch in the library.

But I actually enjoyed my dinner. I caught Ginny giving the Creevy brothers and their friends dirty looks as they continued to laugh and joke around me, as though it were a crime for them to have included me at all. I felt irritated that she was ruining the only truly good moment I'd had all day. I knew that she was upset, but really, did she have to make me feel so miserable? The next time her dark gaze met mine, I glared defiantly back. We stared at each other for almost a solid minute before her gaze broke. But it wasn't a gesture of admittance, she only turned to face Dean, and to answer a question he'd asked her.

I saw Ron leave the table, and wondered why he was leaving the table so early, when we still had almost half an hour before we were due to start our patrols. I shrugged it off. Ron really wasn't my problem anymore. The rest of our dinner went on, with Colin talking to his friend's about some incident that had happened in Herbology, and cracking them up in the process. It was all over too soon.

I thanked Colin warmly. "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys." I said, smiling. Who would have guessed that Colin and Neville would have been my two saviors of the day? Not me, that's for sure. Colin tapped me lightly on the shoulder as I turned to leave.

"Anytime." He replied. "And look, Hermione, don't let them get to you too much." He said, jerking his thumb towards my group of friends. "It'll all blow over eventually. Just…male pride and all that." He said shrugging. I smiled at him again, further encouraged by his kind words. I only hoped that he was right. I walked away from the table and strode towards Filch's office. I hated the fact that Ron would get there before me. It almost made me feel late. However, when I got to the outer door of the caretaker's office, Ron was nowhere to be seen. I tapped my foot impatiently as more minutes ticked by on the wristwatch I was wearing. Where the bloody hell was he? I was actually angry now. It was one thing for Ron to be upset with me, but skipping out on his prefect's duties? That was totally uncalled for!

I was just about to leave and set out on my own for patrol, when I heard a voice coming up the corridor. It was Ron's I was sure. I was about to turn around and tell him off when I realized that there was another voice with him. It was a girl's voice, there was no doubt about that. I had a feeling that I didn't need to be intruding in on whatever was going on. I darted around the edge of the wall a several feet away from Filch's door.

"I can't believe I made you late!" A girl said, half laughing. The voice sounded familiar.

"Look, Hermione isn't even here yet." I heard Ron tell the familiar-sounding girl. I chanced a quick peek around the wall. I couldn't believe my eyes. Holding Ron's hand was none other than Claire Cunningham. I ducked back around the wall before either of them could see me. What was going on? Ron was with _Claire? _We'd just broken up yesterday! For Merlin's sake, he told me he loved me! And here he was, waltzing around with a girl who was one of my friends, and classmates!

"I wonder where she is." Claire said worriedly. I couldn't tell if she was worried because she thought something might have happened to me, or because she thought I might catch them. I knew I had no right to be feeling the jealously that was welling up in my stomach. After all, I'd gotten what I'd wanted, hadn't I? Yet still, something about the way he talked to her…it was just wrong. Ron was such scum. How could one minute, he tell me that he thought he loved me, and the next moment be doing Merlin knew what with Claire? I wondered if he'd started a thing with her because she and I were so much alike.

"It doesn't matter." He replied. "She'll be here soon enough. In the mean time…" I heard the soft sound of a set of lips crashing against another, and then an excited laugh.

"_Ron!" _Claire hissed. "We're in the middle of the corridor!" She didn't sound too upset though. I wondered how awkward it would be for them if I chose that moment to walk around the corner. I didn't know how Ron would react, but I was sure Claire would have the decency to be ashamed. Even if it was really bitchy of me, I chose to act on my impulse.

"Oh!" I said, trying to sound as surprised as I could at finding them standing there together, locked in an embrace. I hadn't expected them to still be softly kissing when I rounded the corner. As I'd predicted, Claire turned to face me and turned a bright shade of red.

"Hermione!" she said, and I could tell she was trying to make her voice sound happy to see me. Funny, how I'd always gotten along with Claire best out of my housemates, and yet currently, I wanted to hex her with all three unforgivable curses. The torture curse first, then, using the Imperius curse next to make her look like a total idiot, and finally, the worst unforgivable curse to get rid of the witch.

Ron did not look ashamed at all. He would not gaze at me though, and his eyes traveled to his feet.

"Well," I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "I hate to interrupt, but we've got to get going Ronald." I tried to smile at the pair of them, but even I knew it didn't work. Neither of them were fooled by my horrible display of an unphased attitude. Claire seemed to realize how close I was to snapping, and must have thought it was better not to say anything to me. She turned and gave Ron one last, light peck on the lips and walked quickly away. I felt some of my anger, at her at least, ebbing slightly away. She didn't know what Ron had told me, and I didn't think she'd done this with malevolent intentions towards me. However, I couldn't say the same for Ron.

I think he was expecting me to say something after she'd left, or perhaps even before, but I wouldn't give him even more satisfaction by actually telling him how much he'd gotten to me. I just turned and headed back up the corridor in which I'd hidden. Ron took a few giant strides and was soon walking along beside me quietly.

I fumed as I walked, and it took everything I had not to curse him. I tried to think of different, suitable things that I could turn him into. A jackass seemed suitable enough. I couldn't believe he'd done this to me. Sure, we'd dated, but that wasn't even the biggest point. We were supposed to be friends. He was supposed to care about me in that way at least. I knew I was being slightly hypocritical; after all, I had found Draco. But Ron…I'd never understood how his mind worked. One moment, he'd be happy as could be, and the next, we were fighting like Kneazles and Crups. He claimed to love me, not even twenty four hours ago, and yet, now he was snogging someone else. I wondered if he'd told her that he loved her two, and my mouth soured at the thought. Poor Claire….she had no idea what Ron was doing to her. She was so innocent and naïve, and it made me even angrier that Ron was probably taking advantage of that.

Why was it that I saw him in such a good light before? Had his ego just suddenly gone crazy and decided it was okay to act this way towards all of the female gender? What had happened to the gangly, slightly over bearing, yet undeniably good natured boy that had been there just last year? Or even just last week? What had happened to make him change so vastly? Surely it couldn't just be me. I didn't hold that much sway over him.

We continued to walk in silence. I so wanted to talk to him about it, and try to figure out where his head was at. Of course, I couldn't count on any of the words coming out of his mouth as solid truth. Not anymore. I felt my eyes prick again, and turned my head slightly. I tried to make it seem like I was scratching my nose when I rubbed my watery eyes, but I don't know if Ron was fooled by it.

It was so unfair that everyone in my small circle of friends saw me as the bad guy, when he was now with someone else as well. I was betting no one knew that Claire and Ron were together, as they hadn't acted any different towards each other any of the times I'd seen them throughout the day. Claire had been slightly distant towards me in Ancient Runes, but I just figured that was because she thought I was the villain too, for hurting Ron. I never would have guessed that my friends were now together. I wondered if Harry knew. Surely, he would have told me. Or maybe he thought that I wouldn't care, and had decided to leave it all be.

Suddenly, I couldn't stand the injustice of it all anymore. I spun to face him.

"What the hell was all of that?" Said, gesturing down the hallway, although we'd now walked far away from Filch's office.

"Nothing." Ron mumbled.

"Don't give me that." I said, glaring at him. I could feel the water works cranking up again, but this time I didn't bother to stop them.

"What do you want me to say, Hermione?" He asked, finally looking me in the eyes.

"Well, the truth would be nice." I spouted off sarcastically. "You told me you thought you loved me, just yesterday. And now, today, you're flouncing around the hallways with one of my friends."

"Things change." He said darkly. "Sometimes unexpectedly."

"So what, you're doing this because you're mad at me?" I asked.

"It's not always about you," he spat, "although I know you'd like to think it is." I felt like he'd slapped me in the face. In all of the arguments we'd ever had, he'd never spoken to me with such venom in his voice.

"Oh come off it Ron!" I yelled. It was ironic that the last time I'd stood yelling at my patrolling partner, it had been Draco instead. "You can't tell someone something like that, and then just act like you didn't say it! Unless," I said, a thought suddenly striking me, "You didn't really mean what you said. You didn't love me." Ron looked at me but didn't say anything. I continued to glare at him.

"You're such a jerk, Ron! Claire doesn't deserve what you're doing to her!"

"What exactly am I doing that she doesn't deserve?" Ron said, raising an eyebrow. "Because she seems to really like everything we've done so far." I gasped at the implications in his voice.

"You are a complete ass." I was shaking in fury, and so was he.

"Yeah? Well you're a total bitch at times, but you don't see me saying that every time you act like one. Which is often." He shook his head at me angrily. "I wasn't lying to you, and I'm not using her. It just happened."

"I don't understand you." I told him, crying openly now. "I just don't get why you do some of the things that you do." He said nothing. I couldn't vent anymore. I didn't want to waste any more of my breath on him. But I knew that this wasn't finished. As much as I hated to admit it at that point, Ron was still my friend, in a totally messed up, shitty way. I hated him so much in that instant, and yet a part of me still loved him. Why? I'll never know. He didn't deserve it. But I couldn't just turn everything off like a switch. Merlin knows I wished I could. It would have made things a lot easier.

"I'm done." I said, exasperated. I tried to put some finality in my voice, but we both knew the conviction wasn't there. Ron finally looked away. After another moment, we continued quietly down the corridor. My mind was a spinning blur of thoughts. I needed to talk to Draco.

Almost as if I'd conjured him up, I felt his undeniable presence. I looked off towards a side corridor, where he was standing shiftily against a wall, half his face cloaked in shadow.

"Our time is up." I said, referring to the time on my watch. I realized after the words left my mouth that they sounded like they had a double meaning. But at that moment, I didn't care anymore. The safety of Draco's arms was inches away, and I dared not spend one more moment in Ron's company.

"Goodnight." He said softly, and I heard pain in his voice. I couldn't comprehend how he went from sad, damaged friend and ex in one breath, to total asshole in the next. I would never understand men. I waited a moment before leaving, and then I threw myself into Draco's arms, sobbing.

**Sorry again. I'd originally written something totally different for this chapter, but I scrapped it, and we got this instead. On the upside, it's longer. **

**Sad or not, I hope you enjoyed. I can't even give my usual signoff of 'Happy Reading' because at the moment, it would feel totally forced. So instead, I'll just say **

**Goodnight. **

**Meghan**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you all so much for all the amazing reviews I received last time…they really made me feel better, and hopefully I'll get out of the mood slump soon. But seriously you guys…you don't know how happy getting your comments makes me. I'd love it if I got even more…because it astounds me that so many people have it on their favorites or alerts list….and there's been 17,000 hits…and yet, I'm only at 204 reviews. =( So please, just please, take the time to leave me a little note with your thoughts on the story, and you'll make me one happy writer. And as we all know, happy writers tend to write quicker, and more. **

**Thanks again.**

**Meghan**

I was going to kill him.

This was no threat. I wanted to tear the stupid blood traitor limb from limb for what he'd just done. I'd heard yelling while I was taking my after curfew walk, and had made my way towards the sound of the noise. Honestly, I'd been hoping it would be some younger students that I could terrify a bit. After all, I was a sixth year prefect.

But as I got near them, the voices stopped yelling. I waited patiently for a moment, leaning up against the wall. The yelling voices had sounded like they were heading this way before they'd gone quiet. In the next moment, my heart nearly stopped as I saw Hermione and the Weasel come around the corner.

Hermione had obviously been crying, that was for certain. I noticed too that Weasel's ears were red and his face was flushed. I caught Hermione's eye, or tried to, from the comfort of my shadows. I hadn't been prepared to deal with this, not after the day that I'd had, but I couldn't just abandon her to be alone with Weasly. I felt the moment when she recognized me. She looked at her watch and then said something quietly to the Weasel. He nodded curtly and turned and strode away. She waited a moment, and then turned and flung herself into my arms.

That was when I had decided I was going to kill him. She shook against me, her whole body quivering because of the sobs that were escaping her dainty lips. I held her close to me and did not speak for a moment. I just held her to let her know that I was there for her, and waited for her to cry herself out so that she could tell me what happened. It took a good while before her tears quieted, and even longer for her to begin breathing normally again.

"What happened?" I asked, when she was finally back to normal. She shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it here." She responded hoarsely. "Is there somewhere we can go?" I thought for a moment, considering the Room of Requirement. But it was several floors and corridors above us. My room was much closer.

"Come on." I said, pulling her hand lightly. Then I stopped as I realized what a huge problem this would create. Someone was bound to notice a Gryffindor, especially Granger, waltzing into the Slytherin common room after curfew. "You might want to do that Disillusionment Charm, Hermione." She looked at me funny.

"Why?" she asked. "Where are we going?" I hesitated a moment.

"Well, I was going to see if you wanted to come back to my room…" She looked horrified. I quickly began back tracking. "I'm not wanting anything, Hermione, it's just—" She cut me off midsentence.

"It's not that I'm scared of _you _Draco." She said. "I just…it would be really weird to walk into the Slytherin common room."

"I'll protect you." I assured her. "You hide yourself with that charm, and once we make it to my room, no one will dare bother us. Or me, rather."

"You have your own room?" she asked in amazement.

"My father isn't a completely useless old bugger." I said, smiling at her, although I was inwardly cringing at the thought of my father, and Theo's earlier threat. "But come on, love. Weren't you wanting to get out of the corridor?" She nodded and swiftly pulled out her wand, and then cast the charm over herself.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're bloody brilliant?" I asked, looking at the place where Hermione's body should have been. The woman had made herself damn near invisible. I heard a soft giggle, and thought I could barely detect the trace of her smiling slightly. I went to grab for where I thought her hand would be, and got nothing but air. I hear her sweet laughter again before she caught my hand instead. I appeared to be holding hands with thin air. "This is weird." I said, shaking my head.

We set off down the corridor at a brisk pace. I was silently trying not to hyperventilate. I don't know what, but I was suddenly incredibly nervous about having Hermione in my room. _Pull it together man! _I yelled at myself. _You've had plenty of women in your room. This isn't any different._ Except it was. I felt a certain connection with Hermione that I'd never felt with anyone else. The Room of Requirement was neutral space…but bringing her into my own, personal, private space was another matter entirely.

I dropped her hand when we neared the Slytherin common room. I knew I had a good excuse for letting go of her, because it would have looked mighty odd for me to be holding my hand out around something that didn't seem to be there. But in reality, my real reason that I stopped holding on to her was because I could feel my hand starting to sweat because of my obsessive and insecure internal monologue.

I gave the portrait the password and then stepped inside. I paused for a moment and looked behind me, as though pretending I might have heard something. It gave Hermione more than enough time to slip into the dungeon common room, and anyone who was watching me would be none the wiser of what I was really up to.

I didn't pause at the common room, where Flint was sitting with Pansy and another seventh year that I didn't know very well. Pansy ignored me completely, but I saw a slight smirk on her face. She probably thought since I'd returned home alone and early that I hadn't gotten any from anyone tonight. Well, she was only a third right…since Hermione was currently with me. Flint gave me a slight nod, but dared not meet my eyes. I knew what he was thinking too. Even though he was older than me, I was taller, stronger, better with magic, and higher up in society. He was scared shitless of what I would do to him for bedding Pansy, and for daring to be out in the open with her in our shared common room. I really couldn't care less that he'd screwed her, but it still got under my skin that Pansy was being such a bitch to me. She was supposed to be my friend after all.

I led the way across the common room, and I felt Hermione's breath tickle my neck.

"This is creepy." She whispered softly, and I knew she was probably seeing the green glow of the lake that we were under, and the cold, high backed black furniture that stood around an empty grate. It was indeed slightly despairing. But I couldn't consider any of that at the moment, because her warm breath on such a sensitive spot to my skin was having quite an effect on my body.

"Mmm…yes." I managed to murmur. She need not know that I wasn't really responding to her statement. I walked rather awkwardly the rest of the way to my room, owing to the largeness that had sprung up between my legs. Thank god I'd at least worn loose trousers today.

When we finally reached my room, I took time shutting the door so Hermione could climb in carefully after me. I shut the door softly, and then muttered a silencing spell over the room. I made sure the door was fully locked, and that not even the strongest _Alohamora _spell would be able to get it open.

"Hermione?" I asked looking around. "Where are you?" Her voice did not answer me, but I knew she was there because I felt her presence in the room. Then, I felt one long delicate nail draw down my back and I shivered. There was a soft, breathy laugh behind me. "Woman, what are you doing this to me for?" She still didn't speak. Another nail drew on me again, this time near my navel. Even through the thin shirt I was wearing, her touch raised goose bumps along my skin.

"Come on," I said, barely containing the moan of pleasure that wanted desperately to escape my lips. I tried looking for her, but only got sudden glimpses of something moving at the edge of my peripheral vision. "Didn't you want to talk?" I asked her. She'd been so upset only a moment ago.

"Hmmm…"Her voice murmured from beside me. "Do you think I want to _talk_, Draco?" she purred. I felt myself harder further. Damn, this witch was good. She'd barely even touched me, and I had a hard on to rival any of the ones I'd had in the middle of a climax with previous partners. Merlin…how did she do that to me? I then decided that I really didn't care.

"Granger, show yourself." I demanded. I didn't want to play games with her. By gods, if she wanted it, then she could come and take it, but I wouldn't wait for long. She laughed again.

"But that wouldn't be any fun…" she cooed. Her voice from behind me this time, and her arm brushed lightly against mine. Where she touched me felt like I'd been set on fire.

"I'll give you fun." I said, springing at her, or where I'd last seen a glimpse of her. I barely caught on to what must have been her shirtsleeve though, because she pulled easily out of my grip.

"Patience, Malfoy." She said, and I could almost see the stupid smirk on her invisible face.

"I'm not a patient man, Granger." I growled.

"Perhaps you should learn." She suggested playfully. I saw a swift flash of movement, and I looked down. The blur that I had seen was Hermione's v-neck shirt. It was now lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. I groaned.

"Hermione…just come here." I tried to ask nicely, politely. I thought maybe it would work better on her. Of course I was dead wrong. It seemed that she wouldn't be given up so easily. I loved this game we played. I enjoyed the chase thoroughly…but I was beyond ready to capture my prize. Inspiration struck me.

I sat down on my bed and sighed, as though I'd given up. I heard another small movement, and her slacks were on the floor, a few feet away from her shirt. Merlin…she was running around my bedroom in nothing but her knickers…and I couldn't even bloody see it to enjoy it! I grinded my teeth together and wanted to say something, but I'd probably already given her too much satisfaction by looking at her slacks on the floor. I had to be patient. She'd come to me.

Sure enough, when I didn't move from my position on the bed, I heard her light footsteps wander over to my bedside. I tried to control my breathing. If I lunged for her now, she'd still be able to pull away. Just a moment more…

"Draco?" she breathed in my ear. I grabbed her in an almost instantaneous maneuver and pulled her tightly against me. I tried to aim for her mouth, but of course, having no idea exactly where her face was, I got the base of her neck instead. I was glad it was semi dark in the room so she wouldn't see how much I was blushing. I tried to act as though I'd been aiming for that sensitive spot along her neck the entire time, and began sucking greedily. She tasted wonderful…nothing I'd ever savored could compare to her wonderful flavor. I inched my way slowly up her neck.

"You were saying?" I asked, nibbling her ear, once I'd found it. She moaned softly and sank into me. "Let me see you." I begged her. I felt her eyelashes flutter against my cheek.

"Why?" she asked. Merlin…she was supposed to be brilliant! Why would she even have to ask why I'd want to see her? I answered her anyway.

"Because you're so damn beautiful. That's why." I kissed her cheek lightly. "And also, it's hard to snog someone that you can't see." She chuckled again, but did as I asked and removed the charm with her wand, which was still in her hand.

"Red?" I asked, smirking at the matching lacy bra and underwear she wore.

"I was hoping I'd see you tonight." She admitted blushing. I no longer found it amusing at all, but instead found my need for her growing exponentially.

"Come here, you," I snarled, consumed with my want for her. She responded eagerly, crushing herself against me. I had to do virtually nothing to help her along as she deftly removed my clothes with her hands, which were not as unsure as they'd been the last time we made love.

There was no foreplay this time. Our need for each other was much too great. And I honestly didn't know how much longer I'd be able to hold it together anyhow. I couldn't put up with anymore of her teasing tonight.

"I want you, right now." I told her, whispering roughly into her ear. She grinded her lower half against me, and I groaned.

"Don't make me beg, Granger." I said, almost angrily into her ear. I tried to flip her over so that I could enter her. She stopped me, and for a moment, I was stunned. Surely she wanted this as much as I did? She then totally shocked me.

"Wouldn't dream of it."She answered sweetly, kissing me on the cheek. And without further preamble, she settled herself on top of me and pushed down. I thought I was going to come right then and there. She did not hesitate, but raised herself up again, and began moving up and down. I was in absolute awe of her beauty. I felt like I was going to pass out with the pleasure she was giving me. We seemed to fit just right together, and I slid almost easily in and out of her. She was so tight around me, and it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever felt. Finally, she cried out, and lay over on top of me. I finished a moment behind her, letting go inside of that wonderful body of hers.

She lay shaking on top of me. I kissed her forehead gently. She seemed spent…but I felt like I could go a hundred more rounds with this glorious creature. She smiled up at me, still laying on top of me.

"You're shaking." I said, wrapping my arms around her.

"It-that….amazing." She said breathlessly, apparently unable to string a sentence together. She snuggled closer to me. I didn't want to ruin the moment…but I had to ask her something.

"Hermione?"

"Mmmm?" She mumbled into my chest.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?" She looked up at me, shocked.

"Was I….did I do something wrong?" She said, and she looked worried. "I just went with what felt right—" I pulled her closer to me.

"Woman, that was the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're incredible." She beamed at me.

"You know, I'm really glad that we came back to your room. This would have been awkward in an open corridor." She said, still smiling.

"Which reminds me," I replied. "What happened with Weasly?" Her face darkened. She told me the whole story of what he'd done. It bothered me slightly that she let him get to her that much. I didn't exactly know what to say for a moment. She looked around my room through the awkward silence. Part of me wondered what she was thinking. The other part of me was considering resorting back to my earlier plan of killing the bastard just so I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. And of course so he wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore. Shit…after what we'd just done, _again_, she bloody well better not have been feeling torn between the two of us. I wouldn't have been able to stand if she even considered anyone other than me after this. That brought up another thought to the forefront of my mind.

"Although I have to ask something else…." I started to say. "Most witches—er—seem to freak out if I don't you know…use…protection." I said, quietly. It was kind of an embarrassing conversation topic. "So you what, performed a spell or something?" She looked at me hard for a moment.

"Please tell me you're joking." She said, and she looked terribly pale.

"Why would I joke?" I asked her, worried by how serious she looked.

"Isn't that kind of…the guy's job?" She replied, her voice shaking.

"Umm…no?" I said. My response almost sounded like a question. "No where in the guy handbook does it say we're responsible for using protection during sexual rendezvous." I said, trying to make a joke out of it. But even to me, my voice sounded panicky.

"I'm sure it's nothing." She said, smiling. I could see the slight worry hidden in her eyes. "Don't worry about it." Of course, now that she'd brought it up, I was completely worried about it.

"Draco, seriously. Just enjoy the night." She said. I tried to make myself relax and feel comfortable. She could tell I still felt tense and she sighed.

"I'll just go then." She said tiredly and in a dejected sort of way. I grabbed her arm as she made to move from my chest.

"Don't go." I whispered. She looked at me curiously.

"You obviously don't want me here."

"Who said that?" I asked her, looking her dead in the eye so she knew I meant what I said. "I want you to stay." I said pointedly.

"I'm making you uncomfortable." She said , observing my tense body movements.

"Well, love, you can't expect to tell a bloke you haven't been…proactive…about certain things and him take it to heart right away. Just give me a moment." She still looked unsure, but did not move again. I forced myself to relax muscle by muscle, until most of the tension was gone. "There, see?" She still looked apprehensive. "Just…next time, use a spell or something." I said comfortingly to her. She blushed.

"I…I don't know any." She admitted. "I mean, that's not exactly the branch of magic I study…" I could tell she was embarrassed.

"Don't worry. My mother gave me a spell to…er—protect us from unwanted things happening." I said. "I'll write it down for you later." She thanked me quietly.

"I just…hate not knowing about stuff." She said, frustrated. "You're all experienced and stuff and I barely—"

"Shhh." I said, putting a finger over her lips. "I love the fact that your inexperience, love. It isn't a bad thing to have waited for someone." She started to speak again, but talking about all of this was making me feel anxious again. "Let's talk about something else. Please."

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"Well, Slughorn's party is tomorrow night. Should be fun, eh?"

"I can think of much better things to do on my Saturday night, but sure, I guess it'll be fun." She replied.

"It'll give me some more time with you." I said, smiling at the thought. She looked at me as if I'd lost my marbles.

"Are you insane?" She asked.

"What?" I said, oblivious to what the problem was.

"Ginny and Harry will be there, and so will Zambini!" Oh. Right. Our friends that hated each other.

"Lovely." I said sarcastically. "It'll be real bang up time, wouldn't you say?"

"Emphasis on the banging up part." She said, smiling. Then she sighed. "Still…perhaps we'll be able to sneak away early."

"Why Granger, I'm surprised at you." I said mockingly. "A prefect sneaking out to do Merlin knows what with her secret Slytherin boyfriend?" She hit me on the arm. "Ow."

"You deserve it." She said, but I could tell she really wasn't mad. She looked at the clock on the wall. "We'd better get to sleep. I'm going to need it to face Ginny tomorrow." My face soured.

"What's the Weaslette got to do with this?" I said, pouting. Hermione looked uncomfortable.

"Well…she noticed when I didn't come home. And I couldn't have told Harry or Ron what was happening…so I—well I sort of told Ginny about everything with you."

"You _what_?" I yelped. "How do you know she won't tell them?" Hermione glared at me.

"Oh don't act so high and mighty. I know you've probably told Blaise and Theo."

"Yeah, and look where it's gotten me." I muttered.

"What?" she asked, having not heard me.

"I said, 'Yeah I did'," I told her, covering up my real statement. "But honestly Hermione…how can you trust her not to tell Pothead and Weasel?"

"How often do I have to ask you not to call them that?" She said, exasperated.

"Until I stop calling them that…so probably for forever." I told her smirking. "But seriously, how do you know she won't tell them?" I was truly worried. It would be bad news if anyone, but especially those two, found out about Hermione and I.

"Ginny's lots of things…"She started off (and I desperately wanted to interrupt her to tell her _exactly _all of the things the Weaslette was) "But she can keep a secret. And I trust that she will." Hermione said, shrugging. I shook my head disbelievingly.

"If you say so…" I said, and I knew she heard the doubt in my voice. "Do we really have to talk about this right now?" I asked.

"Well, we have to some time." She said, and I knew she was right. But I didn't want that moment to be right now. Instead, I captured her lips into another kissed, and was filled with euphoria when she gave up without a fight and kissed me back.

We didn't really speak much again for the rest of the night.

**So….what did yall think? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me a review. You don't know how much they mean to me! **

**By the way, the next chapter is from Hermione's point of view, and there's a lot going down…both in the Gryffindor common room and at Slughorn's Slug Club party. Hmmmm….**

**Happy Reading. **

**Meghan**


	19. Chapter 19

**As promised…a new chapter. =)**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time. I really appreciate it. I appreciate every single one of them…but I have to say, Princess0771, ClaraRuby, xfallxblossomsx, HellaAdams( who is also currently translating the story into Portuguese, and I think is TOTALLY awesome!)KarateChic, Reina13, soulspirit18 and Dramione luv4ever, you guys have totally made my day by all the wonderful things you've said and also just for taking the time out to review my stories. I'm glad that they mean so much to you. Don't think that that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the rest of them…you all know I do. So please, continue to be the nice, wonderful, awesome people that you are and take the time to leave a review. Don't forget, I like smiley's. =) Just smiley's is cool too. =D See?**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**Meghan.**

I woke up Saturday morning exhausted and sore. I looked up at the clock. Damn, already eleven-thirty. And Draco and I had only finally gone to bed around four or so, after a wonderful night of love making. My head hurt, and I just wanted to snuggle back down under Draco's covers and go back to sleep. Of course, now that I wasn't in a euphoric trance, the knowledge that I was sleeping in the Slytherin dorms did make the idea seem much less enjoyable. I looked over at Draco, who was still fast asleep, and sighed. He wouldn't be up any time soon, and I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. I might as well go back to my own dorm room and try to get some shut eye. Lavender and Parvati probably weren't up yet either, and Claire…my thoughts darkened as I remembered the not so good part of my night. I didn't care where Claire was, or what she and Ron were probably off doing somewhere. Everything that had happened last night with Draco had totally reaffirmed my sense that what I had with him was right, and what I really wanted….but that still didn't mean I couldn't be pissed off at Ron.

I mean, honestly, if someone tells you that they love you (whether you reciprocate the feeling or not) it kind of leaves an impression on you. Then, when you see that someone off snogging someone else…well, I won't deny it was a blow to my ego. And the last straw for whatever friendship Ron and I had planned on rekindling. At least I wouldn't even bother having to share a class with him for two more days, and then when we went back to our classes….well I knew he'd probably partner with Harry in everything leaving me alone. It made me fume how idiotic those two boys were. I knew that Harry was doing it out of a sense of loyalty to Ron, and that he probably truly felt bad about hurting my feelings (if the looks he gave me every once in a while were anything to judge by), but it wasn't enough to stand up to Ron and say "Enough's enough."

Of course, if things stayed drastically horrible forever, I might just have to partner Neville. Which wouldn't be too bad…if I didn't let him touch anything….or read the directions….or help in any shape, form or fashion. I sighed again, as I gently moved myself from under Draco's protective arm and rose up off the bed.

It would be nice, of course, to be able to partner Draco in class. After all, he was second best to me in the year, and was very intelligent. The two of us working together on whatever class we were in would result in a dynamite duo that would be done with the assignment before the other numbskulls in the class even realized what was going on. Unfortunately, this was totally out of the question. Ginny was already beginning to sever ties with me as it was, and neither Draco nor I needed any more pressure put on us at the moment.

I went around the room gathering my loose articles of clothing, and slipping them, silent as a shadow, over my head. I paused once when I heard Draco make a noise, but he just simply turned over, and did not move again. Boys….you'd think sometimes they slept so deep that they'd fallen into a coma. Yeesh.

I quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm over myself, to hide me from any prying eyes. I inched the door open slowly, peeking around the edge of the crack to see if anyone was in the hallway. Apparently Slytherins never felt the need to get up early on a weekend, because there wasn't a soul in sight down the deserted hallway. I crept stealthily out, and shut the door behind me. It squeaked a little when it closed.

I heard a movement; another door opening just a little ways down the hall. Pansy stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her almost as stealthily as I had. I wonder which man's bed she'd shared last night. I flattened myself against the wall, and forced myself to barely breathe as she passed. Getting caught by this vindictive girl, in the Slytherin common room, where there wasn't really anyone else to protect me, would not be a good move. Not at all. And as much as I'd like to curse Parkinson right then and there, it would do me no good. Someone would surely see, and there'd be speculation. After all, I'd never seen one of them jinx another (unless it was someone like Draco or Nott picking on someone like Crabbe and Goyle.) But never a sixth year prefect. Or a girl. Even Slytherins had their boundaries…when it came to their own females, that is. So, instead of attacking her, I watched her walk silently down the hallway and out of my range of view.

I hurried out of the common room, past the portrait, who looked quite stunned to have opened for apparently no reason at all. I felt slightly irritated at the thought of Pansy. After all…she'd been with Draco only Merlin knew how many times…she'd been his friend and confidante for years. She was a pureblood, someone that his friends and family would accept graciously, would probably even welcome. I felt myself tear up. _I _could never hope to even step foot on the Malfoy's front lawn without being blown to bits. It was so unfair. It took me a moment to realize that although my fears of his family and friends were well founded, it was another itch that had gotten under my skin. I was jealous of Parkinson. I hated her in that moment, because right then, she was a lot of things that I wanted to be.

I'd never before questioned my blood status, and my family was, by no means poor, at least in the Muggle world. Dentists make a very good profit, after all. But the world that I belonged to now did not favor dentists…that is, if dentists were acknowledged at all. Who needed to pay someone to fix their teeth in the Wizarding world, when one quick repair spell could do the trick? I was a nobody in this world. At least, to those stinking purebloods. The only things that made me well known were my know-it-all tendencies, and the fact that I was one of the best friends of the Boy Who Lived. But past the brains…no one really cared about me. No one bothered to look past the outer shell that I'd created around myself.

I'd sure as hell bet that none of them would have ever thought Little Miss Perfect would sleep with the Prince of Slytherin himself. Give them a right shock it would. One they probably all deserved. But really, it wasn't worth it in the end. I'd lose so much, and so would he.

It seemed like no time that I was back in my common room. The Fat Lady was only half awake as well, and barely registered the fact that'd I'd said anything at all to her. I looked suspiciously down at the bottom of her frame, where her friend Violet lay passed out among the empty bottles of mead that they'd obviously consumed together the night before. I shook my head. It really was dangerous for them to be in this state. Honestly…what if some Slytherin came by and she let them in?

I took a quick look around the common room once I was in. Only a few people were up, and a good bit of them seemed like they were headed down to breakfast. I quietly and swiftly made my way up to my dorm's bathroom, and took the charm off. I then made to crawl into my bed, as if I'd been there all along. Hopefully the other girls would think I'd fallen asleep studying somewhere after I'd finished my patrols.

The only problem was, when I pulled back my hangings, there was already someone sitting on my bed, looking as if she'd been there for quite a while. A red haired, freckled faced, brown eyed someone, who looked like she was about ready to spit nails.

"Ginny," I said, exhausted. "Not right now, okay? Later…" I mumbled. I sat down at the edge of my bed, but I knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"Then when, Hermione?" She challenged. Merlin…I'd never seen her so pissed off. And it set something off in me as well.

"When I want to talk to you about it." I said cruelly. I was so sick of her stupid games. She had no right to judge me.

"You're lucky I'm talking to you at all. I should take a leaf out of Ron's book." She said back angrily. I drug her off of the bed and into the bathroom, where I shut the door and cast the Muffilato spell it.

"So what, you want to snog Claire too?" I asked her. I hadn't intended for it to come out that way, but damn it, if people were going to blame me for being a bitch to Ron, then they should know what an ass he'd been as well.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked skeptically, as if she didn't believe me.

"He showed up late last night to patrols, with her basically plastered to his face." I knew Ginny heard the bitterness and sadness in my voice, because the edges of her eyes softened slightly. But she wouldn't give in that easily.

"He's only doing it because you hurt him." She said defensively.

"So you're condoning him using another girl to punish me?" I said, trying desperately to make her at least take a glimpse at things the way I saw them.

"Well no—" she started off, but I cut her off again.

"Not that it matters anyway…because I asked him flat out about it. He said he wasn't using her, that he really cared about her." Ginny's eyes narrowed again.

"I don't believe you." She said. "Ron would never lie to Harry…"

"I'm not saying he lied." I replied, shaking my head. "I'm not saying I completely understand it either. I'm just saying that he thought he wanted one thing, and now he wants something else." Ginny's face turned redder.

"Well, I'm happy that he's moved on from the likes of _you _then," she said.

"You filthy hypocrite!" I hissed at her. "The likes of _me_?" I was so furious that I could barely control my voice. But the Muffilato spell only worked to an extent. "You're no better than me! Worse, if truth be told." She looked like I'd slapped her in the face. Her vindictive smile was gone, replaced with a look of absolute hatred.

"How do you figure?" she replied scathingly, and in a voice that was deadly calm.

"You're only dating Dean, and you only dated Michael too, for that matter, because you're waiting around for Harry, _hoping _that one day, he might actually bother to look your way." I hated how harsh my voice sounded, but I was not about to take an already unfair verbal beating from her and not give some of my own back. "Not to mention the fact that I doubt Harry would ever give you the time of day once he found out you'd slept with every basically every boy in Gryffindor tower excluding himself and your brother, and half the guys in the other houses too, and not to mention Zambini." Her eyes widened with fear and anger.

"You're lying."

I laughed wickedly. "Pretty feeble excuse, Gin. You really ought to clean up your own backyard before you criticize mine."

"You bitch." She hissed. "You sorry excuse for a Gryffindor. You don't deserve to be Harry's friend."

"No more than you deserve to be his girlfriend." Ginny was breathing hard, and she actually took a step towards me. I could tell she wanted to hit me. Let her try. I'd curse her so fast that she'd be knocked back to last week. And she could take her stupid brother with her.

"You….you…." she apparently could not find words horrible enough to describe me at that moment. I was barely holding back my tears, although I wasn't sure if they were from anger or sadness.

"Look, Ginny," I said, my voice shaking slightly, "I don't want you to hate me." She made a disbelieving noise. "You were attacking me!" I replied, firing up again. "You're sitting there accusing me of all this horrible stuff, and you won't even _listen _to me!" She didn't look at me, but instead seemed to concentrate on unclenching her fists.

"I don't care about anything you have to say." She said, trying to make her voice sound indifferent, but I knew her too well for the façade to work.

"Ginny, just please be reasonable." I begged. The anger that had flared up like a bright lightening bolt was gone just as quickly. I now just felt a desperate need to have someone understand.

"What do you want me to say, after that?" she said, and anger slipped into her voice. She took a breath, obviously trying to calm herself. "I don't think there's any coming back after an row like that."

"I just don't want you to judge me!" I said, my voice squeaking. "It isn't fair for you to be mad at me, when Ron's with someone else….and well, I am sorry about the things I said about Dean and Michael and everything…but, you know it's true." You could barely hear my voice at the end of the sentence because I'd dropped it so low. For a moment, I thought she was going to hit me again.

Instead, the fire that seemed to light up her eyes was suddenly gone. Something broke in her.

"I know." It was the last thing that I expected her to say. It was silent for a moment, until I heard a slight sniffling noise.

"Ginny!" I said, horrorstruck. " I didn't mean to make you cry!" And tears were, indeed, falling down the Weasly girl's face.

"No…you're right. I'm pathetic." Her voice sounded angry again, but more at herself than at me.

"I didn't mean it like that—"I started to say quickly.

"No, I know you didn't but it's true. I've been waiting for Harry for so long…and I Dean's a nice guy….but I know I could never end up with him. I've just had to find satisfaction in other places." She looked me full in the eyes again. "Don't get me wrong. I'm still incredibly pissed at you. Ron's my brother, and whatever he says, I can tell that what you did hurt him. I don't know why you told me about Malfoy in the first place. I wish you hadn't." Her words rang true, and they cut deep into my soul. "We weren't ever really the best of friends to begin with….but I know I'm the closest girl friend that you've got…maybe that's why you came to me." She continued, shrugging. "Whatever the reason…I don't want any more of it. I'm biased, and I get over protective and bitchy when it comes to my brothers or Harry." She took a deep breath. "But, I also agree not to judge you for anything…at least not right away."

"Thank you." I said softly. "That's all I'm asking." She just nodded, and then walked out of the room without another word.

I shut the door again behind her. The conversation that had seemed so pivotal to me had in reality, only lasted maybe five minutes. The other girls were still asleep. I leaned my back against the wall and I cried…for everything that had happened, and everything that was still yet to come.

I locked myself away from most of the day. Part of it I spent sleeping. After all the emotional and physical obstacles that I'd encountered last night, plus this morning with Ginny, I was just drained to the point to where I almost couldn't move. It scared me how tired I was. Of course, with all the stress going on in my life, it was to be expected.

I thought again of how I'd almost keeled over once Draco had asked the question that I'd so naively assumed that he'd taken care of. It was terrifying to think I'd had unprotected sex…_twice. _But nothing would happen…._could happen _like _that _to me. Of all people. I was Hermione Granger. I did not make dumb mistakes. And next time I'd make sure to perform that stupid charm. I blushed thinking how inexperience I must have seemed to him. My parents had never bothered to have "the talk" with me, because they'd always assumed, and rightly so, that I was more interested in books that boys.

I'd quickly moved on from this train of thought, because just stressing over it then made my stomach feel queasy.

I did all my homework, and then finished a book I'd been reading. I kept my hangings mostly drawn shut all around the day, reading by wandlight instead. While I wasn't exactly antisocial….I did enjoy my quiet time. And while at my home in the muggle world, I'd never be allowed to get away with sitting and reading all day, this was Hogwarts. There was no one to tell me to clean anything, or to go do something, or even to put down the book for a bit. Lavender and Parvati had tried to get me to once before, and never dared do so again. Claire never bothered me about it, but didn't read quite as much as I did either.

When I finally pulled back the hangings more than just a few inches, I was almost shocked to see the red stain spreading across the dorm room as the sun began to set. I stretched slightly and stood up from the bed. I seriously considered not going to Slughorn's party. After all, there was just going to be more stress there. I shot a longing, furtive glance at my book. I could always cozy up to I tonight instead of going out….but Harry would know something was wrong. Of course, he'd probably contribute it to the fact that Ron and I were no longer together, but he'd still probably send Ginny up to check on me(which she'd do because he asked, but I didn't think it would sit too well with her on top of our shaky new cordiality.)

There was also the upside of getting to see Draco, no matter in what circumstances.

Of course, if I'd truly planned to go to the party, I should have started getting at least an hour ago. As it was, I was barely going to have time to get cleaned up and dressed before it was time to go. I showered quickly, instead of soaking in a hot bath like I'd wanted to, and settled on a pair of simple, midnight blue dress robes. Not anything too showy or flashy, or even revealing, but pretty all the same. I towel dried my hair, put in some small diamond stud earrings, brushed some lip gloss and mascara on, and was out the door in record time.

My feet felt more leaden the closer I got to Slughorn's door. I could hear soft, classical jazz playing through the solid wooden door that opened up into his office. I took a deep breath, and then rapped my knuckles on the wood three times.

Harry was there, but Ginny and Malfoy were not yet. Zambini stood over in the corner of the room, talking to a Ravenclaw girl who was said to be fluent in forty languages, and whose mother and father were pureblood millionaires that were partners in stocks at St. Mungo's. I wondered for a moment why she hadn't been placed in Slytherin, because her face looked just as haughty as Zambini's. I suppose her wit must have outstripped her ambition by a millimeter or so. Zambini glared at me for a moment, and then looked behind me, as though he expected Draco to come in the door after me. As if we'd be that stupid. I gave him a smile and a wink to let him know he wasn't getting to me. He scowled for a moment before calming his face into a mask.

Harry, on the other hand, was striding towards me with two glasses of butterbeer in his hand.

"Hermione." He said cordially, offering me the foaming refreshment. It looked slightly odd in a champagne flute instead of a tankard, but I accepted it nonetheless.

"Thank you." I mumbled. He tried to smile, but it was only halfhearted.

"You too?" I said. It may have come out sounding harsher than I intended it to, but I'd already had enough of this shit. Wasn't there something else that they could obsess over? Like Quidditch?

"What?" he asked sheepishly. I just gave him a knowing look, and to my immense satisfaction, he blushed.

"Look…you can be nice, and I promise I won't tell anyone." I said, trying to turn it into a joke, but I could hear the hurt in my voice. Harry could too obviously.

"He's my best mate." He said, I guess as a means of an apology.

"What am I?" I asked softly. He hesitated for a moment.

"You—you're my friend too." He told me.

"It isn't enough though, is it?" I said, smiling sadly. My heart felt like it was breaking. Yes, I'd found the man of my dreams (arrogant though he may be), I'd lost so much already in the process. Ron, Harry, even Ginny…

"It'll get better." He promised. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than me. "Once time passes…and you both have a chance to think things over—"

"We aren't getting back together, Harry." I said, politely, but firmly. The last thing I needed for was him to go run off and tell Ron something that might make him think he could get back in my good graces. He grimaced slightly.

"Not even a tiny, remote, possible chance?"

"No." I said flatly. "And cut the matchmaking act. It doesn't suit you." He sighed.

"You're right. It doesn't." Well, at least now he was being honest. "But you're still my friend, you know?" I was sure if he found out the reason I'd dumped Ron, he wouldn't be saying that.

"Yes. Friends." I replied, taking a small sip of my butterbeer. I needed something to give me a lift in the dreary atmosphere.

"Ahem." A person coughed beside us. I turned to find Ginny standing in some violent purple dress robes that went, surprisingly, with her fiery red hair.

"Ginny." I said coolly. She gave me a slight nod. Harry looked back and forth between the two of us, and I could see that he noticed the unspoken tension between us.

"Ummm….should I leave?" He asked. Typical male. I made a motion with my hand.

"No, don't be silly. I wanted to go talk to Professor Slughorn anyway," I said, giving my best attempt at a smile. "Enjoy your evening." I saw Ginny mouth a grudging "thanks" before I turned away. I just nodded. I did actually have full intentions of going to talk to Professor Slughorn about the marks he'd given us on our Veritaserum potions from the day before, but halfway there I got waylaid by Cormac McGlaggen.

"Hello, Hermione." He said, puffing out his chest slightly.

"Hello, Cormac." I said stiffly.

"So," he said, without any invitation to continue the conversation, " I hear you and Weasly broke up. That's too bad." But on the contrary, he looked as though this were not bad at all, but instead, one of the best things that could have happened to him.

"Yes, tragic isn't it?" I said dryly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I wanted to have a word with the Professor…" I made to move forward, but his strong arm shot out in front of me.

"Now hold on, there just a minute, darling." He said, smiling that ego maniac smile of his. He made to say something else, but he was stopped by a low, distinctively cold voice.

"If you'd like to keep that arm, I suggest you remove it." I felt relief course through my veins as I heard Draco's voice behind me. "Granger, a word." It felt so odd, after the time we'd spent together, to hear him say my name that coldly.

"Like I'd give you the time of day, Malfoy." I said, playing along with his little act. I gave him a side wink, where only he would see, and I thought I saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly, although he wasn't even smirking. Cormac was backing away from us now. No one was stupid enough to get between the Slytherins and Gryffindors in a fight. And Cormac wasn't enough of a man to come to my "defense".

"It won't take but a moment. I had a question about the Transfiguration homework." Draco said, layering his voice with disgust. I shuddered, because his antagonism sounded so real.

"Figure it out yourself." I said, stomping away. I finally did reach Professor Slughorn. Throughout the conversation, I tried to persuade him to give me my grade early, and he diligently refused, shaking a pudgy finger at me and smiling in retribution.

"Please, sir?" I asked, yet again. "It could really affect my overall grade point average in your class sir, and I want to make sure I did my very best, or at least have the opportunity to make it up if I haven't—"

"Always the teacher's pet, aren't we?" Draco's voice came from behind me again. I whirled to face him, and gave him a warning look. What was he doing? We'd already had our interaction for the night, and everyone had seen the hostility between us. Our acting was over for the evening. We couldn't risk any more time in each other's presence. Slughorn shifted on his feet nervously.

"Now, now, Mr. Malfoy." He said. His eyes cast around for some sort of colleague to help him, but this was not his huge Christmas party. This was a regular, small gathering that he had quite often. There were no other teachers around to stop this brawl. Which is what, I'm assuming, he thought it would turn into. Before any of us could say another word, Harry was at my side with his wand drawn.

Zambini moved almost as quickly to Draco's side. Apparently their differing of opinions on me would not stop him from taking the chance to defend Draco if it meant getting to hurt Harry in the process.

"That's quite enough!" Slughorn said, his round belly quivering slightly in his anticipation of the events that were about to transpire. "We won't be able to continue these get-togethers if you all start behaving this way!" But no one was really listening to him at that moment, least of all the three men standing closest to me.

"Get away from her, you ferret." Harry said. Draco raised his eye brow slightly.

"And since when have you gotten the ridiculous impression that I follow _your _orders, Potter?" I couldn't look at either of them, but I could feel the anger building on both sides. I caught Ginny's eye. She was watching the oncoming fray with what might be described as slight amusement. I mouthed _help _to her, but she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, _what can I do? _

Merlin she was annoying sometimes. It looked like it would have to be up to me then. I stepped in the middle of them, placing a hand on each of their chests.

"Stop." I said, trying to remain calm. Harry looked at me in complete and undisguised shock. Draco smirked slightly and looked down at my hand on his chest. I remembered what that same hand had been doing to his body not twenty four hours ago, and it made me look away, blushing.

"He insulted you!" Harry said.

"No, he said I'm a teacher's pet. Which I am." I said, shrugging and removing my hands. "It's not worth it Harry. You'll get into trouble." He backed further away, but did not lower his wand.

"You better be glad she was here to stop me, Malfoy." Harry threatened.

"Oh, that's truly terrifying, Pothead." Draco snorted. "That'll keep me up at night, it will. You wouldn't dare touch me." I'd come to love Draco's cocky attitude, but at that moment, I was just praying to Merlin that he would keep his mouth shut. In that moment, I had a brilliant idea. I muttered "_Langlock" _under my breath, and suddenly, Draco made a slight gagging noise.

"Ha!" Harry laughed loudly, followed by most of the people in the room. I felt absolutely terrible for humiliating Draco like that in front of everyone, but I had to do something to stop him and Harry from dueling. "Nice one, Hermione!" It seemed as though I was back in Harry's good graces at least. But apparently, I'd taken one step forward only to take another back. Draco's eyes were dark, and I knew that I'd have some answering to do to him later. I sighed. I stepped away from the boys, and looked over at Ginny again, who'd been silent through the whole charade. Her eyebrow was raised slightly, as though not sure why I'd just done what I had.

I took a moment to glance around at everyone else before walking over to her.

"So how come you didn't take the boy toy's side?" she asked, and the scathing tone was almost back in her voice.

"Because my friends matter, too." I stated simply. That shut her up. She didn't glare at me again for the rest of the night, but nothing positive came out of her mouth either. Harry seemed to be back to his old self, laughing and talking with us as though the past few days had never happened.

The only thing truly bad about the rest of the evening was the fact that I knew I'd hurt Draco, even if only emotionally. Slughorn had escorted him to the hospital wing to have his tongue unstuck right after the incident had occurred.

And then…there was one more damper on the evening. It came in the form of Blaise Zambini's nearly black eyes….eyes that were clearly wishing the worst upon me.

**Sooo…what did you all think? Long chapter! Woo! So tired. Deliriously so, in fact. Good night all.**

**Please don't forget to leave a review.**

**Happy Reading.**

**Meghan**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey everyone…I'm sorry for the long time period between the updates…and you've all been so wonderful about reviewing too. I just started my fall semester of college and I'm still working nearly thirty hours a week…so it's been crazy. I'll try to update every Tuesday and Thursday though, to kind of keep it regular, but I can't promise more than that on a regular basis. Thank you all so much for your continued words of wisdom and questions and comments on the story. I really love hearing them. **

**Happy Reading.**

**Meghan**

It was hours later that I finally calmed down enough to think rationally. Slughorn had brought me to Madame Pomfrey to have her lift the Tongue Tying Curse Hermione had put on me, and the head nurse was none too happy about being awoken at the late hour. It took her another forty five minutes or so to remove the hex, and if I hadn't been so infuriated, I probably would have stopped to admire Hermione's handiwork on the jinx.

But as it was, I couldn't even think about that witch without seeing red. I hadn't bothered going back to Slughorn's party afterwards. It would have been winding down anyway, and I really didn't want to face Granger or Potter at that moment. Although it would have been lovely to see Hermione squirm around her old friends at my nearness to them.

I walked back to the Slytherin common room.

My mind began to wander as my feet ambled along in the general direction of the dungeons. Everything that had happened with her had been like a hurricane: swift, beautiful in its intensity, completely ferocious and unpredictable…and ultimately catastrophic.

I'd dueled with one of the only people I'd ever considered a true equal, or friend. Theo was sure to never forgive me, as we Slytherins were quite well known for holding a grudge. And by our pure blood standards, what I'd done to him was truly unforgiveable.

Blaise was mad too, although it hadn't quite come to blows with him yet. I wasn't sure how much longer it would be before that happened though. For a moment when he'd rushed to my side tonight, I hadn't known if he was going to help me attack Potter, or help Potter attack _me. _And in my world, being unsure of your friends could be deadly.

And lastly, I truly did feel horrible about what I'd done to Pansy. Sure, she was annoying as hell sometimes, could be clingy, needy, and all of that other shit women are famous for…but she was my friend. Or used to be anyway. She'd never shown anger before at the thought of my sleeping with other women, but it was probably because she had her little side affairs too. But, taking a Mudblood? To her, that was inexcusable, especially because everyone, including our families, expected us to eventually end up together.

And it couldn't have exactly been a picnic for Granger either. I'd seen the way that she'd been reduced to sitting with the Creevy brothers when everyone else shunned her, and that the red headed Weasly girl had not come to her aide tonight in defending herself. Even Scarhead seemed to be slightly distant towards her, if I had been reading his body language right.

Was all of this really worth it, then? I mean, it had started out, for me, as a sexual fantasy, an infatuation that I had assumed would pass once I had screwed her senseless. I shuddered at the almost vile thought of the woman that I was quite sure I was in love with. How could I have seen her in such a vile way? And why did I have to notice her at all? She'd never mattered to me before….

I stopped the train of thought short, because it wasn't entirely true. Hermione had always been a thorn in my side, from the first day we'd met at Hogwarts. Even in the first week of our classes, she had been determined to show everyone up. And she had. Even me. And that irritated me. No one had ever been better at me before at anything. The only thing she couldn't do was ride a broomstick, and her stupid pal Potter had bested me at that.

But, I had always, grudgingly, give her just the tiniest amount of respect. It was nothing that I would have ever dreamed of voicing out loud, because I was much too proud a person to ever consider being cordial to a Mudblood. But, she was smarter than most of the Ravenclaws, and as least as cunning as the Slytherins. She was brave, and loyal, like all of the rest of those bloody Gryffindors. If she'd been in Slytherin, she would have absolutely been my perfect match. Always a challenge, a completion….something that Pansy or any other woman had ever been able to give me.

I felt like Fate was spitting in my face. She had so tantalizingly offered me a prize, and just when it seemed I had won it, I felt like I was being forced to give it up. I wanted her. I loved her. I was even coming to the realization that a part of me needed her. She made me a better person. But I couldn't have her. She wasn't made for me. She'd probably find some man who wasn't nearly good enough for her. The thought made my insides burn with anger. _No one _was good enough for her, except me. No one could offer her as much as I could, love her the way I did, or respect her the way that I would. Not Weasly or Potter, or any of the other bloody idiots inside the school's walls or out.

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. _Why _did this have to happen to me? This was so wrong, for both of us. We had to be together, but we couldn't. The unfairness of it all made me want to scream, and yell, and curse every Gryffindor in sight. I wanted to hate her, the way I still should. I wanted to be able to honestly say that I didn't care. I wanted to have a million more women to keep my bed warm, and forget the way she gave me pleasure like no one else ever had. But I couldn't.

I turned and pounded my first on the wall. The dull sound reverberated down the corridor, sounding mutely angered, like my current thoughts. I wanted to be able to go to her now, and speak with her, but I was rational enough to realize that with the towering temper I was in, it was very likely that I could snap, and hurt her. I didn't want to do that. I wouldn't be like my father, who hit my mother, the woman he claimed to love.

I kept walking, further down into the depths of the castle. With every step I took, my anger and frustration seemed to swell. I was utterly exhausted by it all. When would I get off this whirlwind of emotion and back on solid ground?

It sure as hell wasn't going to be any time soon. I couldn't quit her that easy, and even if I could, I'd still have my friends to deal with. I considered trying to talk to at least Blaise before going to be, hoping that the moment of camaraderie against Potter at the party had mended that bridge.

However, once I entered the common room, I saw that this was not so. Blaise was staring coldly into the fire, and I could tell he was purposefully refusing to meet my gaze. Theo and Marcus sat next to him, with their heads bent in discussion. Theo must have felt me looking at him, because he chose that moment to look up at me. Slowly, a cruel smile appeared on his face.

I'd only seen his eyes level at someone with that much hatred on one other occasion. The boy had ended up in St. Mungo's. Permanently. I made myself meet that gaze head on. He wouldn't scare me, no matter what he had planned for me. I turned on my heel and walked away from the lot of them, determined to at least try to get some much needed sleep tonight.

I flung the door open to my private dormitory and strode over to the bed. I heard a noise come from behind me, and thought for a moment that Theo had followed me and intended to curse me. I spun around quickly, taking my wand out as I did so. I met a gray stare that was identical to mine, except infinitely colder and darker.

"Draco." The blonde man said in greeting. With that one word, my name, I knew he knew. And I knew I was going to pay for it, all of it, dearly. I responded with as much daring as I had in me.

"Father."

**So, I know you're all going to hate me, because first off, this is wayyyyy shorter than any other chapter I've written on this story (And for that lovely little cliffhanger). But I promise next time the update won't be so far from this one. Just trying to get settled into a routine at work and school. I PROMISE that I'll have another one up by Thursday, and perhaps sometime before then. But Thursday at the latest. **

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, even if it was short. PLEASE REVIEW! I love ya'll!**

**Happy Reading**

**Meghan**


	21. Chapter 21

**I know you probably all hate me, or at least are incredibly frustrated. But you must understand…I'm averaging between four and five hours of sleep a night. I barely have time to eat, much less write anything that isn't directly related to my school work. This is the first night I've had a bit of time to myself. I'm so terribly sorry for the wait I've put you all through. I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

**Meghan**

I bit my lip nervously. I'd been dreading Draco's reaction all night long. I should have thought before sending that curse at him, but before I'd done it, it seemed like such a reasonable thing to do. However, after I'd seen the look on his face, I knew that he wasn't happy with me. Not at all. Blaise looked astounded that Draco didn't retaliate further. But he didn't do anything, not even after Slughorn had hurried Draco off to the infirmary. I'd been hoping that maybe afterwards Draco could come back to the party, so I could catch another glimpse of him. Even if only to see how much trouble I was going to be in. But he did not return. Which was another clue that he was severely pissed off. Shit.

My Arithmacy class seemed to pass by all too quickly. I was dreading Defense Against the Dark Arts….but Draco wasn't there when I entered. In fact, he didn't show up all class period. He wasn't in Potions either. I was beginning to seriously worry. Surely he wasn't so angry to skip classes all day?

The only upside of my entire day was that Harry was now being perfectly friendly towards me again. I suppose he felt like he had rekindled his friendship with me once I'd stood against Draco with him. Ginny was being distantly cordial with me. Both of these things should have made me incredibly happy. But the thing was, I couldn't keep my brain, which kept trying to find a head of silver blonde hair in the crowd, focused on the fact that their politeness should have made me happy. He wasn't at lunch, or dinner. By the time I was headed to my patrols, I was very worried indeed.

I showed up right on time, and tonight it was Ernie who was my patrolling partner. He made small talk at the beginning of the evening, asking me how my classes were this year, and if I thought Slytherin had a chance of beating Gryffindor this year in Quidditch. However, after a few mumbled responses on my part, he seemed to sense that my mind was elsewhere, and did not push me further.

We walked in silence along the ancient corridors. We had no trouble, except for a pair of fourth years that were hidden in a side entrance playing with a set of Dr. Filibusters Famous Wet Start Fireworks. The whole corridor that the five boys were standing in was filled with smoke and sparks. Fortunately, we could vanish them, unlike the Weasly's Wildfire Whizbangs. I inwardly groaned at the mess we would have had on our hands then.

However, Ernie and I were able to handle the situation without even going to get Filch. We couldn't dock any points from the hooligans, three of which were from Gryffindor, one Hufflepuff, and then a rebellious looking Ravenclaw, so we set them detention with their Head's of House and gave them lines. Ernie continued to lecture the boys while I proceeded to begin the cleanup process.

"Honestly." He said, shaking his head as the boys left and climbed back out of the side corridor. " I never did anything like that when I was their age."

"Their age?" I asked, smiling slightly. "Ernie, it was only two years ago that we were in fourth year." He looked slightly sheepish for a moment.

"But it feels as though it was ages ago, doesn't it?" I thought over everything that had happened to me since the beginning of term this year.

"Yeah, it does." I agreed. He looked at me for a moment, and was apparently deliberating on saying something.

"Are…are you all right?" he asked me. The look on his face was concerned, but like that of a friend. And just like I had with Colin the other night, I was exceedingly grateful in this moment for this nice, if sometimes pompous, boy that was my friend.

"I'm fine." I said slowly. "Why do you ask?" I'd never been one to wear my feelings on my sleeve, so I didn't know how Ernie sensed that something was wrong. Unless perhaps he knew something? But I doubted it…if he had, he would have come out and said something to me about it at the beginning of the patrol instead of trying to make small talk.

"Honestly?" he inquired. "Because you look like you've been to hell and back. You look as though you haven't had a decent night's sleep in months, Hermione."

"I _feel _like I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in months." I admitted to him. "I'm just so stressed about everything…" I didn't want to just go spilling my guts to Ernie, because, well, he was a boy, and they tended not to appreciate such things.

"Is it things with Ron?" he asked. I was shocked that Ernie would ask such a thing.

"Ummm…yes?" I answered him. "Well, I mean, that's a part of it." I was still looking at him oddly. He was the first male, other than Draco, that I'd met that seemed fairly intuitive. But on the other hand, I'd slept with Draco. He knew me inside and out. Ernie, on the other hand, I'd never even really had a particularly stimulating conversation with. "How did you know that?"

"Well I mean, a girl and a guy go out, they were best friends, and now they don't talk and the girls all messed up over it…it doesn't exactly take an Auror to figure it out now does it?" He asked defensively. "I was just trying to help, but if you'd rather I didn't, I apologize." Ernie had somehow slipped back into his usual ostentatious self. Perhaps that was for the better. I didn't need to be getting closer to any of the men in my life in any shape, form or fashion.

"Thanks anyway, Ernie." I said quietly. I'm not sure if he heard me, because he was walking back towards the main hall when I said it to his retreating back.

We didn't talk much for the rest of the night, and didn't encounter any other issues in the hallways. I wished I could have had some kind of music, some beat, to regulate my thoughts as we walked. Unfortunately, electric objects seemed to go totally haywire and not work right around Hogwarts, so I was going to have to deal with the pounding in my head that was my erratic thoughts. For the first time in my life, I was ready for vacation so I could go home.

Not that my home life was bad, just that life at Hogwarts was so more interesting. But lately, everything had turned sour, and now the social aspects of school were just one big headache.

The end of our patrol was fast approaching. We'd walked over a quite a bit of the main parts of the school, and so mutually determined we could cut our patrol short. After all, if we hadn't found anything, we weren't likely to at this hour.

"Goodnight, Hermione." Ernie said coolly. I wondered if his demeanor was always like this at the late evening hour, or if some of the iciness in his tone was left over from our earlier conversation.

"Goodnight, Ernie." I said as politely as I could. He seemed to soften slightly towards me.

"Do you need an escort to walk you back to your tower? It is rather late." I almost wanted to laugh at his knight in shining armor act. For some people it worked, but on Ernie, it made him sound rather silly. And then I thought about my own supposed knight in shining armor….Draco would fit the mold perfectly. I could see him in any position of power, whether it be a pure blooded Slytherin prince that would one day become the head of the Malfoy family, or a knight and lord in the middle ages. But he wouldn't have been a purely good knight…not, not my Draco. He was tinted with darkness. I shuddered, and I wasn't sure if it was from pleasure or anxiety. I then realized Ernie was still waiting for an answer.

"I'll be fine, thanks." I told him. I had no intentions of going back to Gryffindor tower anyway. After Ernie left, I was headed straight for the Room of Requirement. I was sure Draco would be waiting for me there. Ready to scold me for my mistake, and then make love to me all night long. The thought made my insides turn to fire. Instantly I was anxious to get out of this place.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow, Ernie." I said, waving goodbye to him. I didn't wait for his response, but took a turn around the corner and out of his sight. Instead of heading up the stairs that would take me back to my own common room, I stayed on the same level and rushed down the hallway until I found a different stair case, one that led to the seventh floor corridor.

_I need a place to meet Draco. _I thought three times in my head. The door popped into existence and my heart started pounding. After not having seen his handsome face all day, I was going to get to spend time with him. The thought excited me much more than it should have. I was falling way too hard for this wizard. Oh Merlin, who the hell was I trying to fool? I'd already fallen.

I flung the door opened, sure that he'd be waiting with irritation etched on his face. But when I opened the door to the room, it was silent. There was no one there. It was the same room we'd been in the last time we'd made love. The sheets were still rumpled as though our lovemaking had ended only hours earlier. The fire was burning low in the grate, and the lights were dimmed. The sofa, the bed, and the chair were all empty. The door to the kitchen of Hogwarts was gone, so he'd not gone for a moment through there either.

Where was he? I felt my happiness slip away like water through a sieve. He couldn't possibly be mad enough to not meet me…not when I was so sure that he would. I paused only long enough to shut the door softly behind me.

I sank to the floor, feeling confused and hurt. I sat there for a few moments, trying to contemplate how I'd gotten to this point. I was still me, wasn't I? But at the same time…there was a new me. This new part of my being was a woman…but a woman who was emotional, confused…and in love. I wondered if the two "me's" would ever mesh together.

Just then, I heard the door creak open behind me. I should have been worried. After all, I hadn't asked the room to protect me from any unwanted intruders. But I smelled his expensive cologne and felt his dominating presence and knew that it was Draco who had entered the room, finally.

"I was worried." I whispered to him, when I felt he was close enough to hear me. He said nothing. "I'm sorry for what I did last night…" I tried again. No response. I was terrified to look into his eyes. Why was he so angry? And I didn't have to guess that he was upset. I could practically feel the fury burning off of him in waves. What I'd done last night with the tongue tying curse was nothing to merit the way that he was feeling now. I finally chanced a look at his eyes. What I saw there chilled me to my very core.

They were icy in a way that I'd never seen them before. It seemed like a storm was going on behind his gray eyes, and as if to prove my point, every once in a while they seemed to flash in my direction. But of course I must be deluding myself. Perhaps it was a trick of the firelight. Yes, that must be it.

I got up off the floor. I didn't want to be in such a state in front of him. I'd never felt submissive to anyone before. I wondered if that was what it would take for him to calm down from whatever had angered him so badly.

"Draco?" I asked him softly, and went to place my hand on his shoulder. I felt my eyes sting as he jerked away from me before I could touch hm.

"Don't." He said shortly. I just nodded, trying to keep my heart from breaking, and tears from falling down my face. I knew that whatever this was, it wasn't good. And I doubted that he'd answer me straight out if I asked him. So instead, I tried a different tactic.

"Where were you today?" I said. He wouldn't look at me.

"In the hospital wing." Even though he didn't meet my eyes, I had the sense that he was telling me the truth about where he'd been.

"Were you sick?" I asked with concern in my voice. Maybe I'd misread the signs, and his anger was actually pain from whatever illness had ailed him.

"You could say that." He said quietly. As surely as I'd known he was telling me the truth before, I knew he was lying to me now.

"What happened?" I asked him. He went to sit on the couch in front of the fire, but did not answer me.

"What happened?" I asked him again, as I went to sit next to him on the couch.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said darkly. Before I could utter another word, he grabbed my face with his hands and pulled his lips hard against my own. I was so overtaken with his anger and passion that I almost forgot to breathe. I felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was in my lover's arms…and that was all that mattered to me right then. He didn't even bother moving us to the bed, but instead we rolled to the carpeted floor almost directly in front of the fire place.

It was nice because I felt heat from all sides; from inside myself, from the fire beside us, and heat radiating from him. But I was bothered by the ferocity behind his kiss. He'd kissed me with lust, with love, with passion…but never with this level of anger. Part of me was enthralled by this darker side of his lovemaking, but another part of me was terrified of what he might do.

He stripped me of my clothes quickly, but left his on longer than normal.

"What about you?" I questioned him, drawing my finger along his arm, which was still dressed in a long, wrist length, dark blue shirt. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but gently removed his clothes.

I gasped in horror. There were several bruises that looked as though they were weeks old, but had obviously hurt terribly when they occurred. But…they hadn't been there when we'd made love not even a week ago. What had happened to him?

"Don't ask me Granger, because I won't tell you." He said gruffly. I couldn't believe this. What could be so awful that would do this to him, and he still felt like he needed to hide it from me?

"Is this why you were in the hospital?" I asked, not directly asking him what had happened. He nodded.

"It took Madame Pomfrey most of the day to heal them….there was some internal bleeding too, and a few broken bones." I shuddered in repulsion of whatever had caused this. Then I had a horrifying thought. What if my curse had somehow spiraled out of control, and done this to him?

"Did I …I mean, the tongue tying curse…was that what did this to you?" He barked out a laugh that was full of bitterness.

"No, you didn't do this to me." I wanted to ask him more, but before I could, he roughly claimed my lips again, and we began to move together in a rhythm that was all our own.

Hours later, after we'd both climaxed together several times, we lay on the thick carpet next to the now dying fire. I hated thinking that we were like that fire…so bright and beautiful…and then to die out, as if we'd never been. I told myself to stop thinking such ridiculous things. The intensity of our intercourse tonight didn't necessarily mean things were coming to an end. But something in the very deepest part of my being seemed to be trying to tell me something. I should have listened.

"I have to go." He said. Coldly. Indifferently.

"Why?" I asked him. The other times we'd been together, he'd stayed with me. I'd never been faced with the prospect of facing the night alone after having sex with him. It made me feel cheap and used.

"I've got homework." He said bluntly.

"Oh," I said, slightly startled, "You shouldn't have come out then, I wouldn't want you to get behind." I could understand wanting to keep up with all of our assignments.

"I had to come see you…" he said.

"Well that's sweet." I told him. My voice sounded softly sweet and incredibly breathy and fake. I realized I was on the verge of hyperventilating and I had no idea why.

"I had to come see you," he began again, "because it's the last time I'll be able to do so." I closed my eyes, as if I shut off my sense of the world I could block out the words he'd just said.

"No." I whispered.

"It's not because I want to." He said, and I heard the faintest trace of emotion in his voice. "I'm doing it because it's better for both of us…"

"Those marks…those bruises…they are because of me, aren't they?" he wasn't saying who or what had done this to him, or even why… but I knew. He said nothing.

"I don't want them to hurt you….but I have to have you." I told him. And it was true. I felt like I needed him in my life to function properly.

"We can't." he said, and his voice was abrupt and cold again. There would be no convincing him. I felt his warmth from beside me leave. I stayed on the floor as he dressed quickly. I couldn't force my eyes open. I felt cold and stunned as I lay on the floor where we'd so recently made love. He didn't want me. Couldn't have me. Whatever the reason…he was leaving.

I felt cold and dead inside. I heard the door open and shut as he left. As he walked out of my life.

The answer to my earlier question…no. The two parts of myself would never be put together. I would always be broken.

**I'm sorry to again leave you guys on such an awful note. I'm not sure whether I should end it here, or add more. I don't want it to be one of those things that drag on until the story isn't good anymore…what do you all think? Because even if I do keep writing, I can't promise more than like once a week updates. **

**Please leave me your thoughts and comments. I appreciate them all, and will reply to any questions or remarks that you have. **

**Thanks. **

**Happy Reading.**

**Meghan.**


	22. Final Chapter

I died inside. When the door slammed shut behind him, I felt as if I'd never get up again.

But even then, before I knew, something made me get up and keep going.

I watched him from a far, each time feeling as though seeing that head of blonde hair would make my heart break again, worse than before. I hated knowing that I had turned into that girl. That girl that I despised, that thought she needed a man to survive. But I could not comfort myself with the knowledge.

Three and a half weeks later, I experienced none of my normal monthly symptoms. I don't know if I really knew that morning when I woke up and there was no blood or cramps, or if it took going to Madame Pomfrey to confirm it.

I was pregnant.

I was not worried. I didn't care what my parents would think once they found out.

I was _comforted _that now, no matter what, I would have a part of him with me, always. A part of him was growing inside me.

I went to Madame Pomfrey twice a week to get everything I needed. I placed a Distorting Charm on my figure, making it appear its normal small shape as in reality it grew ever larger.

And even at the end of the school year, when he fled with the Death Eaters, as Harry's accusations about him had turned out to be true, I could not bring myself to hate him. Not for what he'd done to the school, or to me.

And when his son was born a few months later, I loved him just as much. He was beautiful. I only held him once, but St. Mungo's was kind enough to give me a private ward and a few minutes alone with my son. He had blonde hair...but it was already thick and curly. His dark grey eyes looked entirely too much like his father. I wasn't sure whether to cry or smile at this bundle of joy that I held in my arms.

But I knew where I was going with Harry and what I was going to have to do. I could not bring my son with me. His life would be in so much danger if anyone ever found out about him.

It seemed all too soon that he was taken away from me. I had no one there to comfort me when he was gone. Madame Pomfrey had helped me in school to hide my secret, even gotten me into St. Mungo's without my fellow classmates or parents knowing.

I spent endless nights crying over my decision. But I had no other choice.

I had to protect my son. Draco's son….our son.

**A/N: Quite a few people have asked me about a sequel, and honestly I'm suprised that so many people had shown further interest. Yes, I'll consider doing a sequel, because I absolutely love that you've all taken the time to tell me how much you enjoyed the story. But I'm sorry to say, I don't know exactly when I'll be able to post it. I'd really love to have ample time to devote to my writing...so it may be as early as Christmas break, or as late as summer break. However, I've asked my work to cut back my hours...so perhaps it will even be sooner than we all think. ;)**

**Thank you all again for sticking with me through the story...through my grammar errors, POV shifts, cliffhangers...the whole shebang. And I'm so grateful to any and all who reviewed. You are wonderful readers, and I hope you'll all stick around for part two, when I finally get it up.**

**Happy Reading.**

**Meghan**


	23. Help!

Hi everyone!

Allright, so here goes. So many people have asked me about doing a sequel for this story, and as I've previously stated in the last chapter and to many of you in review replies. However, I have a slight problem. As I've also mentioned to many of you, I'm running rather short on ideas as far as how to make the story move forward. I have some ideas once it gets going...but there are a few things that I'd just like ya'lls input on.

I have some ideas, but I'm just curious...what do you think would be the best way to incorporate her son into the sequel?

Do you think I should involve her and his parents?

I'm not sure yet if I'm planning on staying true to Deathly Hallows or if I'm going to veer drastically yet. I haven't had the time to sit down and really plan out anything for the plot for the sequel. So I'm asking you all your opinion. What would you prefer I add or not add to the next story?

Maybe it seems shallow, asking for yalls input, but I want my story to be the best it can be. In order to make it that, I believe that yall telling me your ideas will make it that. And, I'd like to crank it out before the next century ends, which currently just isn't going to happen.

So send me a message or leave a review, just tell me your thoughts in some shape form or fashion.

If I just absolutely fall in love with your idea, I might pick your brain a little more. =) And of course you'd get credit for it when I finally write the sequel.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me through all of my late night posts, grammar issues, and cliff hangers. I love you all so much...and as some people have suggested...I really do need a beta. So, if you're interested in that as well, please let me know. But you'd have to be someone who could get back to me fairly quickly.

Thanks again. =)

Happy Reading.

Meghan


	24. SEQUEL POSTED

**FIRST CHAPTER OF SEQUEL POSTED! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

**IT'S CALLED C'EST LA VIE...WHICH IF YOU'RE WONDERING, MEANS "THAT'S LIFE." IN FRENCH.**

**THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!**


End file.
